Forbidden Love
by EternalRandomChick
Summary: It isn't wrong to love the one who rescues you time and again, is it? But there's one problem: I'm a poor farm girl from England. Him? He's the High King of Narnia. Set during the Golden Age. PeterxOC
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"This is the last straw, Yvonne!" I'm surprised the people in London didn't hear Harriet's yell. Harriet and George Colstrum are my adopted parents. Harriet grabbed my sketchpad away from me. Looking at what I had drawn, you'd think it was a self-portrait, but no. It was a picture of my deceased twin sister. I was two minutes older than her, but that two minute's age difference was our only difference. But Harriet wasn't fooled.

"George!" Harriet called down. "Get the whip!" That was typical. Harriet and George were always trying to stop me from thinking about Lorelei, and not in a kind way. Every time they found me doing something related to my sister, Harriet always escorted me outside and George brought the whip. I usually received about thirty lashes during one whipping. I was used to being whipped. Every time the two found anything wrong around the house, they found some way to blame me, which would usually result in about ten lashes. Backtalk would add twenty to that. If they found me doing anything related to remembering my sister, the number would vary depending on how angry they already were. I was whipped about five to seven times a day.

"She was my sister!" I yell at Harriet as I grabbed my sketchbook back from her. "You already control nearly everything I do, but now you're trying to tell me what to think?"

"You're just increasing your punishment, girl." Harriet hissed at me. She glared at the sketchbook. "I'll let you keep that for tonight, but in the morning, I'll have you throw it in the fire!" She then pulled me outside to where George was waiting with the whip. It was a somewhat merciful version of the cat-o'-nine tails. It had the nine cords, yet it lacked the shards or orbs at the end of the cords. That way they could whip me as many times as they wanted without fear of killing me.

"I think a hundred lashes should do it this time around, George," his wife said.

"A hundred?" I gasped. That was more than I ever received during a single beating.

"First for the drawing. That was thirty." Harriet smirked as she explained this. It was almost as if she enjoyed punishing me this time. "Forty lashes for it being a drawing of your sister, and then thirty for the backtalk. George, if you would."

George stepped forward and raised the whip ever so slowly. The whip stung, but I had learned to tune it out. But by about the fiftieth lash, I started to feel the pain. My body wasn't used to this many. By the sixtieth, I had fallen to the ground, crying out in pain. Somehow, I still managed to hold my sketchbook. At the end of the beating, I lay there on the ground in shock. Tears welled up in my eyes. I had long since stopped crying because of the whip, but this was the most severe beating I'd ever received. I heard Harriet and George leaving. Struggling to my feet, I made for the woods, slowly at first, and then I picked up speed, until eventually I was running. How I had the strength to run, I didn't know. My tears blinded me and my blood was pouring out of my wounds, weakening me. Soon, I tripped and fell. I lay there on the ground, sobbing. I hoped that a wild animal would come along and put me out of my misery. I was totally unprepared for what _did_ find me.

_A/N: This is my first Chronicles of Narnia fanfic. Please be nice and don't give me any flames. Don't forget to R&R!_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thanks for your really positive reviews, guys! Sorry that I didn't mention Yvonne's age in the previous chapter, but she's about seventeen or eighteen._

Chapter 2

I drifted into a sort of sleep, still clutching my sketchbook that my adopted family had threatened to burn. Suddenly, I heard voices nearby. They seemed to be discussing me.

"Here we are," someone said, and I heard another person draw in a quick breath. The person who had spoken sounded like a man, but he had a gruff, almost bestial voice. "I'm not certain if she's alive or not."

"It's almost impossible to lose that much blood and survive," another voice said. I heard a horse moving away and I assumed that the owner of one of the voices was leaving, giving me some space. I heard someone else get off of another horse and come up to me, looking at the back of my shirt, which I could tell was completely soaked with blood. "Dear Aslan," he breathed. "What _happened_ to this girl?" Wait, had this man said _Aslan_? Had I, when I had tripped, somehow thrown myself into Narnia?

I moaned and shifted my position on the ground. I heard the man beside me gasp and move back in shock. "You're alive?" I heard him ask. I weakly nodded my head. I shifted onto my back, moaning in pain as the scars on my back screamed because of the sudden weight on them. After the initial shock passed, I opened my eyes to get a good look at the person who stood over me.

This man had blue eyes that were framed by blond hair and he was looking down at me with concern written all over his face. He seemed to be about nineteen or twenty years old, only a couple of years older than me. He knelt down and held out his hand. Gratefully, I took it. I doubted I would be able to get up on my own, at least not for a while. As he pulled me up, I winced more than once because of the wounds on my back. Some of them, I could tell, were still open. I could just imagine what I looked like to this man: my face streaked with dirt and tears and the back of my shirt covered with blood and my entire body stained red by it.

The man gasped. "What happened to you?" he asked again.

"Whipping." I barely managed to whisper. My voice was hoarse from all the sobbing.

The man looked as though this was the most horrible thing he had ever heard of. "They whip girls where you're from?" he asked, sounding horrified.

"I don't think they whip all girls." I told him. "But my adopted parents whip me regularly."

"Where do you live?" he asked. I saw his hand twitching, moving towards a sword that hung at his side.

"England." I whispered.

He seemed to relax. "Well, you won't have to worry about being whipped anymore while you're here," he told me. "We don't tolerate that sort of thing here in Narnia." So I had guessed correctly that I was in Narnia when this man had mentioned the name Aslan. "Come with me," he said, guiding me towards his horse. "What kind of Narnian host could I call myself if I just let you stand here while your wounds need to be tended to? You're lucky it was one of the Centaurs who found you and not something else"

He gently lifted me onto his horse and then climbed on in front of me. I held onto him as he spurred the horse into a gallop. The steady rhythm of the horse and the aura of peace that the countryside held soon began to lull me back to sleep.

"I don't think I know your name." I told the man.

"Oh, where are my manners?" he gasped. "I do apologize for my rudeness. My name is Peter."

"I'm Yvonne." I murmured just before I fell asleep with my head resting against Peter's shoulder, my hand still clutching my sketchbook.

_A/N: So that's how Yvonne and Peter first meet. I know. The suspense on what could have happened in Yvonne's past is killing you, right? Well, rest easy. I'll show you in a couple of chapters. Probably not the next chapter, but soon, I promise. In the meantime, R&R! Until next time, my reviewers!_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Well, here is the third chapter of this story. It's a bit longer than the previous chapters. Peter is a somewhat minor character in this chapter (sorry!), but Lucy's the healer in the family, and Yvonne did have those wounds from the whipping back in chapter one. So, here you go, and I thank all the people who gave me all those kind reviews for the previous chapter._

Chapter 3

I heard Peter chuckling softly. "Wake up, Yvonne," he laughed. "We're here."

To my embarrassment, I realized that I had slept with my head resting against his shoulder. I tried to stammer out an apology, but Peter brushed it off, saying there was no need.

"You're weak from the blood loss." He said. "It's understandable that you would be tired."

My eyesight had been blurry from sleep, but as my vision came more and more into focus, I found that we were in front of a grand palace. Back in England, there was a palace barely visible over the horizon from where I had lived with my biological family, but that castle was nothing compared to this one.

"Where are we?" I asked, completely awestruck by the beauty of this place.

"Cair Paravel." Peter answered. I looked at him in shock. Now that I knew the name of this palace, I knew exactly who had found me back in the woods.

"Your majesty." I murmured, beginning to kneel to the High King of Narnia, but he stopped me.

"I won't have you straining your wounds and making them worse," he told me. "Come on, we need to get you to my sister." He led me inside (I tried not to notice the shocked stares on the faces of the guards as we passed), and once we were in the main area, he sent someone looking for his sister Lucy.

The Valiant Queen soon came in, grinning. I could tell she was happy to see her brother, but as soon as she saw me, she stopped and gasped, horror etched into her face, and I grimaced.

"By the Lion's Mane!" she exclaimed. "What happened to you?"

"I was whipped." I explained

Queen Lucy shuddered, and I could tell that she shared her brother's feelings about my being whipped. "Come on," she said, taking my hand in hers. "Let's get all this blood off of you."

The youngest queen led me to beautifully furnished living quarters that she explained were for visitors to the palace. As I turned to face her, she closed the door, and then made a motion that indicated she wanted me to turn around. "Let me see."

Wordlessly, I turned. I made no protest as she lifted the back of my shirt up to check the extent of my injuries, yet I winced when she gave a small scream of horror when she saw exactly what condition my back was in because I knew my back had the most injuries.

"How many lashes did you get?" she asked, her voice small.

"A hundred." I whispered.

The queen gasped. "Why in the name of Aslan would your family _do_ such a thing to you?"

"They're not my family," I told her. "They adopted me and they hate me."

"Oh, I didn't know," she apologized. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right, your majesty." I told her.

The Valiant Queen held up her hand. "I insist that you call me Lucy," she said. Then she turned her attention back to the wounds on my back. "Wait here," she said suddenly. She left the room, but returned soon after, this time carrying a goblet. "Drink this." She handed the goblet to me.

I did as she told me to do. The drink was simply water, but it was the sweetest water I had ever tasted. It took me a moment to realize. "You mixed your cordial in with this, didn't you?" I asked Lucy. She grinned and nodded in response. I finished drinking the water, and Lucy checked on my injuries when I was done.

"Well, the open wounds have closed, but you still have the scars." She reported. "The blood is still caked on your skin, but at least you're no longer in danger of bleeding to death. Besides, the dried blood will easily come off in water." She disappeared into a side room and I heard running water. Soon, Lucy returned and pulled me into the bathroom.

"If I might ask, what is that book you're clutching?" Lucy asked. "I only ask out of curiosity," she hastily added, "because you haven't let go of it at all."

I glanced down and noticed that I was still clutching my sketchbook. "It's my sketchbook." I told her. "I was holding it so tightly because my adopted parents, Harriet and George, were going to force me into burning it after they whipped me." Lucy drew in a quick breath and I nodded. "They were angry because I drew a picture of my twin sister. They didn't like me even thinking about my sister; that's why I was whipped." I looked at my hand again. The blood on my fingers had dried, nearly immobilizing my hand and it was hard to let go of the sketchbook. It took some time, but eventually, Lucy and I managed to loosen my death grip on the sketchbook.

"Do you mind if I take a look?" Lucy asked.

I must have looked uncertain, because Lucy set the sketchbook aside and told me that she would ask at a later time when I was feeling better and after I wasn't covered in blood. My back still stung from my beating and my arms were stiff from the blood, so Lucy helped me prepare for the bath.

"I have no idea how all this blood can be removed from this," she said, looking at my shirt. "It might have to be disposed of."

"I don't want any memories of what's happened." I said, finally relaxing as the blood flaked off my skin, relieving my joints from their stiffness. "If it turns out that the shirt must be disposed of, I will not hesitate in agreeing."

Lucy smiled. "I'll go get you some things that aren't covered in blood," she said, and then she left.

I was very happy to finally get all the layers of blood off and I scrubbed three times to make sure that there was no residue of blood left on my body. The water was a strikingly deep shade of red by the time I was done.

I had just wrapped the towel around myself when Lucy came back. "Looks like I have perfect timing!" she joked, smiling. "Here." She handed me a bundle of clothes. "I'll leave you to get dressed." And with that, she exited the room again.

The dress that I had decided to wear now was a beautiful shade of sunset purple. Usually, I tried to avoid wearing purple, since most shades of purple were in stark contrast with my blue eyes, but this shade of sunset purple complimented my blue eyes, and it even looked good with my black hair. Since I was covered with scars, I didn't count myself as beautiful, but it was definitely a major improvement over how I had looked back with my adopted parents. I went back into the bedroom, where Lucy was waiting.

She smiled. "There, now! No one would ever guess you had been covered in blood only a couple of hours ago!" I yawned, suddenly. I guessed that I was still weak from the blood loss. Luckily, Lucy understood. "You should get some rest." She told me. "You must still be tired. Peter told me that you fell asleep on the way here." I blushed remembering, and Lucy laughed before continuing. "I'll come and wake you when it's time for dinner."

"Thank you," I said gratefully. She nodded at me, and then left. Glad to finally have some time to recover, I climbed into bed and was soon fast asleep.

I woke up the next morning with a start. I had forgotten the previous day's events and when I saw the sunlight streaming in through the window, I had panicked, thinking Harriet and George were going to give me so much more than a hundred lashes for coming down late. But, as soon as my eyes adjusted to the light, I realized that I had somehow been transported into Narnia, that High King Peter had found me bleeding to death and he had brought me to Cair Paravel and his sister Queen Lucy and taken care of me. I was so relieved I nearly laughed.

Rising from the bed, I discovered that I was still wearing the dress Lucy had loaned me to wear to dinner the previous night. Fortunately, she had brought me more than one dress. I went and picked out a blue one that matched my eyes perfectly. Immediately after I finished dressing, I heard a knock on my door and a female voice call "Yvonne?"

"Come in." I said and Lucy entered the room.

"I'm glad you're awake," she said. "You slept all through dinner last night and you didn't even respond when I entered the room. Peter was quite worried when I showed up without you." I could tell she was teasing me with that last sentence. "My siblings told me to tell you, if you were awake, that they request that you join us for breakfast."

I smiled. Ever since meeting Lucy, I had become rather eager to meet the other two royals. "Of course I'll join you, your majesty." I said.

Lucy laughed. "How many times am I going to have to ask you to call me Lucy?"

"I'm sorry." I told her. "I'm just getting used to this place."

Lucy giggled again and then she brought me to the terrace where the other three monarchs were waiting. Peter gasped in astonishment when I arrived.

"Yvonne? Is that you? You look beautiful!"

I blushed slightly at the High King's comment. Saving me from embarrassment, the raven-haired boy asked: "So is this the girl you told Su and me about yester eve?"

Peter turned to the young man. "Yes, Ed." He said. "Yvonne, these are Susan and Edmund, the two of my siblings that you have not met."

I curtsied. "Your majesties."

The Just King held up his hand. "We're all friends here, Yvonne," he said. "And we request that you address us as you would your friends."

"I've been trying to tell her that, but she just won't listen!" Lucy told her brother.

"I hope you're feeling better?" Susan asked me. "I heard that you had nearly bled to death yesterday due to an unjust whipping."

"The whipping was unjust, due to the fact that my only crime was remembering my sister." I responded. "And yes, I am very much recovered."

I was a bit overwhelmed by the breakfast. The most I had gotten to eat for breakfast back with my adopted parents had been a single slice of bread and glass of water. This here – I had been completely unprepared for this! Fortunately, all the royals were understanding and eager to be helpful.

In the middle of the meal, Edmund brought up the subject that I had hoped would not come up. "So, Yvonne, tell us about your family," he asked. As soon as he asked that, I began to feel uncomfortable and I looked away from everyone.

Susan immediately broke in, saying: "It's perfectly fine if you don't want to tell us. We won't hold it against you if you decide to remain silent on this matter."

I smiled at her. "You truly are the Gentle Queen." I said. "And I thank you for offering me the chance to refuse. But the memories are beginning to weigh upon me and it feels like they will crush me if I don't speak them. So, I again thank you for the offer, but I think it would be better for me if I told you about my family; biological and adopted."

So I sat back in my chair and began to tell my tale.

_A/N: I'm so mean aren't I! I'm about to tell you about Yvonne's past and then I end the chapter! At least you know that it will be in the next chapter. Just a word of warning, the next chapter, compared to my other writings, is pretty graphic. I'll let you know at the beginning of the next chapter what is going to be in it. You can kind of see some feelings brewing between Peter and Yvonne even now, can't you? No? Well, then you're blind. (JK!) :P!_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: This is the chapter about Yvonne's past, as promised._

**_WARNING!_** _Compared to other pieces I've written, this could be somewhat disturbing. There is a suicide scene in which I describe the blood and the girl's final moments, a few more mentions of child abuse (which could be seen as even more horrible than the whipping scene in chapter 1), and Yvonne describes a nightmare that she had. The nightmare is based off of a nightmare that I myself had once._

Chapter 4

"My tragic tale begins even before I was born." I told the four monarchs. "My father left my mother before she had even given birth to my twin sister and myself. Lorelei and I never knew him. The only think he gave us was our blue eyes. I'm not even sure if my father's still alive or not. I think the break devastated my mother. I saw pictures of what she was like before he left. She just seemed… distant, I suppose is the word I'm looking for. It was as though not only did her husband leaving her devastate her, she had some sort of secret that she was keeping from her daughters. I had to grow up pretty quickly. Because I was two minutes older than Lorelei, I had to act as the mother figure to her. Mother never really told us how to raise crops, so we were only her helpers when the harvest came.

"We lived that way until my sister and I were about eight. Then that's when the weird stuff started happening. By weird stuff, I mean that Mother would be standing right next to Lorelei and me, and then, all of a sudden, she would be across the room and covered in battle scars! We questioned her about this, but she would not answer us, no matter how hard we pressed her. This continued for about two years, and then, just as planting time arrived, Mother disappeared! Well, she had never told my sister or me the first thing about planting crops, so we had to plant crops entirely on guesswork. However, most of our crops went bad. There was no way we could have survived the winter on the few crops that we salvaged, so we had to walk to the nearest orphanage. Of course I left a note for our mother, in case she ever returned. The matron of the orphanage was kind enough to take us in and agree not to put us up for adoption until we knew if Mother was alive or not. The day after that, we reported to the police that our mother was missing, and they promised that they would do everything that they could to find her.

"Lorelei and I lived at the orphanage for about two months before I had the nightmare. I was surrounded by these… creatures." I shuddered, remembering. "I could barely see them, there were clouds covering the sky. The only thing I could clearly see was their glowing red eyes. To this day, those eyes still haunt my dreams occasionally. These monsters were powerful; it was as though the creatures drew their power from the darkness. I was wielding a sword with great skill, but these monsters kept coming, no matter how hard I fought. I don't know for how long I fought, but eventually, they parted, forming an aisle. Their leader stepped forward. He began to fight me, and he easily beat me down to where I could not stand. This monster drew back his sword and, for a moment, the clouds parted to reveal the moon. This thing had a face of pure evil. Just after I saw his face, I was suddenly thrown back and I saw my mother lying right where I had been just moments before. Just before he committed the act, I understood. I had been seeing through my mother's eyes. My mother had been fighting those creatures, and their leader had defeated her. As soon as I had that realization, the monster drove his sword forward and it plunged straight through her heart _(A/N: This is the nightmare based on the one that I had. The major difference was that there were other creatures in my nightmare which I will not describe. I wrote the nightmare down and if you wish to know what happened in it, I will type it up and sent it to you in a PM)_.

"I woke up screaming. I heard a scream coming from Lorelei's bed and I looked at her. One glance told us that we had each had the same dream and that the dream had been a vision. Mother was dead. The next morning, I went back to our old house and took the note down. What was the point of leaving a note for someone who was dead? I cleared things up with the police and the matron of the orphanage. The police stopped looking for Mother, and the matron of the orphanage put us up for adoption. About six months passed before a couple came to the orphanage. They seemed really nice, and they were looking for a daughter. They adopted me, but they said they only needed one, so they didn't adopt Lorelei. For three years, I visited the orphanage regularly to visit her. However, at the beginning of spring, four years after I had been adopted, the matron informed me that my sister was in the hospital. Well, Harriet and George, the couple that had adopted me, drove me to the hospital every day. My sister was unconscious. I begged her to wake up, but she wouldn't. Three more years passed. It was our sixteenth birthday, and I hoped that Lorelei would be awake when I was there. I had been told that she either woke up right after I left, or fell back into unconsciousness just before I came. But that day, I had been feeling unwell from the moment I set foot in the hospital. Lorelei's nurse was waiting for me outside her room. The nurse told me to brace myself, and I suddenly became afraid of what I would find when I entered my sister's room. But nothing could have prepared me for what I found.

"Lorelei was awake. But her hands were stained crimson, and blood was coming out of her heart. On her bedside table was a knife, blood streaking the blade directly down to the handle." I sobbed, remembering the shock and betrayal I had felt when I had entered the room and found that my sister had stabbed herself. The Kings and Queens were looking completely aghast. They had been completely unprepared for what I might have told them. I continued: "She smiled sadly at me and said 'I was hoping that I would see your face again before I died'. 'Lorelei', I asked, 'why would you do such a thing?' 'Grief', the nurse responded. 'She had become delirious from always missing you during her points of consciousness. She did this not ten minutes ago'. 'But sister', I asked. 'Why'. She coughed before saying anything, and when she did speak, she did not answer the question. 'I love you, Yvonne' she said. Those were her final words. As I held her mangled body, my sister, the one who meant so much more than the world to me, drew her final breath. I nearly collapsed from the agony. I'd like to tell you that I was strong for my sister's sake, but in truth, I wasn't. In fact, I was, in all honesty, thinking about grabbing the knife that my sister had used and plunge it into my own heart. However, the nurse seized my wrist and prevented me from doing so; she said that the crazed look in my eyes had been the same as Lorelei's before she had stabbed herself.

"So there I was. No father, Mother slaughtered by some kind of monster, and Lorelei dead at her own hand. I had never felt so alone before, not even after Mother died.

"About a week after Lorelei's suicide, Harriet and George began to show that they weren't as kind as they had pretended to be when they had adopted me. They began introducing me to a work schedule around the house and farm until eventually, I was doing all the work and they weren't even lifting a finger to help me. Failure to do the work in exactly the way they wanted would result in about thirty lashes, and they whipped me regularly. Sometimes, they wouldn't tell me how they wanted a job done, and so when I did it according to how I guessed it should be done, they would give me forty lashes and maybe even other things, depending on how foul a mood they were in. Sometimes, if they were in an extremely irritable mood, they would hold me underwater until I was unconscious from lack of air and continue to the whipping once I was awake. More than once, they locked me outside on extremely rainy nights; making sure that I had no shelter." As I explained these torments, I noticed that both of the Kings clenched their hands, clearly holding back their fury. I took a deep breath and continued.

"Two weeks after this started, I began to write down my thoughts for the day in the form of a letter."

"I thought your mother was distant." Edmund broke in. "If she didn't teach you how to plant crops, how did you learn how to write. Oh, forgive me for interrupting."

I smiled at him. "It's all right. I taught myself how to read and write, and then I taught Lorelei how to do so. We had messy handwriting, given the fact that we had had no real training, but our words were legible. The one good thing Harriet and George did for me was that they helped me make my handwriting somewhat neater. Anyway, to continue my history, I wrote down my thoughts of the day in the form of a letter. I intended the letter to be for my sister. I would write the letter at night, and in the morning, I would release the letter to the wind, in the hopes that it would find Lorelei, wherever she is.

"I never really had any hope that I would get any response, but on my seventeenth birthday, exactly a year from Lorelei's suicide, a dove came to my window, just as I was about to release the letter to the wind. In its mouth, the dove carried a note. The front of the note bore only one word: 'Yvonne'. My name was there. But it wasn't what was written on the note that gave me the feeling of ecstasy; it was the handwriting in which my name was written. I would recognize that handwriting anywhere: Lorelei's. My sister's handwriting was much messier than mine, and usually I was annoyed by how I could barely read her words, but at that moment, I had never seen anything more beautiful than my name written in my sister's lopsided handwriting." I smiled through the tears that had leaked from my eyes. Even the four monarchs had tears in their eyes. I continued. "I asked the dove to take my message back to my sister, and it took my letter in his beak, and flew off. This became our routine for a year: the dove would bring my sister's letter to me in the early morning, and when it left, it took my letter back to my sister. However, only a few weeks ago, Harriet and George forbade me from sending my letters to her. I wrote one final note to her explaining what had happened and I sent her my love.

"So now, since I was forbidden to have contact with my sister, I resorted to simply drawing her. I drew a little each day, her eyes one day, her hair another, and eventually a picture started forming. But only yesterday, just after I finished the portrait, Harriet found out. She was furious that I had been drawing my sister, and she told George to give me a hundred lashes." I heard Susan give a small gasp. "They told me that I would be allowed to keep my sketchbook, the one I had drawn the picture in, until the next morning, and then they would have me throw it into the fire. I was in shock from the whipping, but after they left, I managed to gather up enough of my strength to run into the woods near the house, but not far. I tripped, and when I landed, I didn't bother to get up, for I hoped that a wild animal would come along and end my life." I looked up at my four companions. "The rest you know." I finished.

They were silent for a long while. "You went through _that_?" Susan asked. I couldn't speak past the lump in my throat, so I merely nodded. "You poor thing!"

"You won't have to worry about being whipped while you're here, or any of those other tortures you mentioned." Edmund said. "First reason is because this is Narnia; women aren't whipped here. And the second reason is that you are our guest. If someone treats a guest of our like that, he will severely suffer the consequences."

"Thank you." I said. "Thank you for trusting someone who is a complete stranger."

"We'll protect you, Yvonne." Peter promised me. "You can count on that."

_A/N: So, there's Yvonne's past. She's. . . wow. She's gone through some trauma, hasn't she? Well, that horrible past is over. Now, she has a new start in Narnia. But what shall happen to her in Narnia? Well, we shall see._


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Okay, so in this chapter, the plot's gonna thicken. This is where we are introduced to the bad guys. Sorry for the unoriginality of this chapter, but I was tired when I wrote this and I do not have a beta, so forgive me for not living up to my usual standards._

Chapter 5

In the shadows, deep within the Castle of the Night, evil was beginning to stir. The Shadows had heard of the girl's sudden departure from the world of humans. They knew that a half-blood would be an important part in their plan of shrouding the worlds in darkness. The problem was that they weren't sure which half-blood it was.

"Is this girl one of the ones?" a male voice rasped. He was looking into a black crystal ball, looking at the black-haired, blue-eyed girl who was currently laughing along with the redheaded queen. What was that queen's name again? Lucy. And what was the necessary girl's name? Yvonne.

"Yes, she is." A female voice somewhere nearby responded eagerly. "She is one of them. We made quick work of her sister; the fool who we knew would refuse our offer. The poor dear never stood a chance against our poison. From the moment we looked into her eyes, the younger one was doomed. The silly girl eventually killed herself because of the insanity we inflicted upon her."

"I am somewhat glad that the elder girl survived our disciplinary measures." Another male voice, different than the first one, now spoke up. "Although, I am surprised that she survived that last thrashing we gave her. One hundred lashes, even with the enchantment we placed on our whip, might have been too much for her. Thankfully, her non-human blood made her strong enough to survive and lead us right to our enemies. I do not think you would have been too pleased with us had we killed the creature, our Bridge."  
>"You presume correctly," the first male voice responded. "The girl is necessary." He looked up, his red eyes meeting the two pairs of red eyes in front of him. "I suppose you're wondering why I had her sister poisoned." The two Shadows in front of him nodded. "Well, that girl was still a child; she was too… pure." He shuddered on the word <em>pure<em>. "The child would have instantly known what we are. Since she could have warned her sister, it was best to dispose of her. But this one," he pointed to the black-haired girl now shown in the crystal, "this girl did not remember her childhood and her _innocence_" – he spat this word out – "because she did not have a childhood. By forcing her to grow up, she no longer saw things that could be dismissed as imagination."

"But did we force her back to this world too soon?" the female questioned. "She only just turned eighteen."

"That matters not, Darcy!" the second male hissed. "What matters is that now, she is in Narnia. It will only be a matter of time before her choice, no matter what it is, covers all of the worlds in complete and utter darkness!"

_A/N: Who could the Darcy and the second male voice be? No - it couldn't be! Could they possibly be Harriet and George! Dun dun dun! Next chapter, Yvonne will be back, and you'll definitely see Peter show feelings for her (tee hee!)_


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Okay, so we've experienced a sudden lack in reviews, people. They are always appreciated, because they give me confidence as a writer. But anyways, I've got good news. I am now on spring break, so hopefully that will mean that we will see a sudden influx of chapters. Unfortunately, I cannot promise anything, since I can kind of feel an unfortunate case of writer's block coming on. If you guys can give me some reviews, hopefully that will make the writer's block go away faster._

Chapter 6

"Come on, Yvonne, you need to see the town!" Lucy urged. "Besides, you need your own dresses and shoes if you're going to live here!"

"All right, all right!" I laughed. "I'll come!"

Lucy's delight was evident as we headed towards the stables. The other three monarchs were coming with us, mostly to help me feel more at home in Narnia. I was given a horse, which I felt more comfortable riding now, since I had completely recovered from the whipping. The Narnia countryside simply took my breath away. I had never dreamed that such a place of harmony could exist, and now here it was, right in front of me! I was so overcome by a sense of belonging that I began to sing, softly.

_Ano chiheisen _

_Kagayaku no wa_

_Doko ka ni kimi o _

_Kakushite iru kara_

_Taku-san no hi ga_

_Natsukashii no wa_

_Ano dore ka hitotsu ni_

_Kimi ga iru kara_

The strains of the song wove throughout the air and resonated, making the song even stronger.

_Saa dekake you Hitokire no PAN _

_NAIFU, RANPU kabani Tsume konde_

Encouraged by the feeling of family that surrounded me, my voice became louder as I went into the chorus of the song; now I was unafraid of being heard.

_Do-san ga nokoshita atsui omoi_

_Ka-san ga kureta ano manazashi_

_Chikyuu wa mawaru kimi o Kakushite_

_Kagayaku hitome kirameku tomoshibi_

_Chikyuu wa mawaru kimi o nosete_

_Itsuka kitto deau bokura o nosete_

I sang the chorus again and I let my voice linger on the last note as it faded away, ending the song. I somewhat wished the song was longer.

"That's a pretty tune." Susan said. Caught up in singing, I had almost forgotten that I was not traveling alone. "What do the words mean?" the eldest queen asked.

I turned, giving an embarrassed smile. I knew my singing voice was somewhat lacking in beauty. "My sister and I used to sing that song all the time when we were living at the orphanage. It gave us a sense of comfort, and strengthened our sisterly bond. I don't know what the words mean, but the song has always had a special meaning to me." I turned away, ashamed. "I'm sorry. My singing voice isn't very good."

"Yvonne, you're a wonderful singer!" Peter said. "It's just a shame that we were the only ones to hear that song, I'm sure that all Narnians would have loved to hear it."

Again, I blushed slightly at his praise. _Does the High King have a crush on me?_ I thought. It certainly seemed like he did. I had never really had time for guys back in England, given that I had to be a mother figure to Lorelei, or healing from the injuries that Harriet and George had inflicted upon me. Besides, they had kept me in isolation from the moment they adopted me, except for when they brought out that ointment to lather onto my skin to hide my scars whenever that man who had helped with the adoption process came to see how things were working out between us. I had lied and told him I loved living with Harriet and George, but that was only because something in their eyes had told me that I would suffer very serious consequences if I told the truth.

But now? Now I was free! If a man loved me, who's to say that I can't return those feelings? Certainly not Harriet and George! But really, the _High King_? I'm not a fool. There's no way I would ever be able to be in a relationship with him.

When we reached town, the girls and I went to the seamstresses first, so that I could get some dresses of my own, and then later to the shoemakers in order to have proper Narnian shoes made for me. Everyone was so nice here! I was used to either being ignored or tortured, so this friendliness overwhelmed me at first. Luckily, the queens respected the fact that I would not want my history made known, so they kept quiet about my traumatic past, merely saying that I had come from their world and also that I had not been around very many people before coming to Narnia. The creatures of Narnia were very understanding, and they were doing everything that they could to make me feel at home here. By noon, we were heading back to Cair Paravel.

As soon as we had left the town, Peter brought his horse alongside mine. I could see something in his eyes that said that he wasn't coming back simply for the pleasure of my company.

"I get the feeling that you don't want to simply talk to me." I told him, once he was next to me.

Peter laughed. I liked his laugh. "You presume correctly," he responded. He looked directly into my eyes. My breath caught. I felt like he was staring directly to my soul. "I came to ask you to sing that song again."

"What?" I asked.

"Please." He sounded like he was begging me to sing it.

I sighed. I didn't think I was going to be able to win this argument. "Fine." I said.

By the middle of the song, Cair Paravel was visible. I could see some Narnians on balconies, looking to see who was singing. I felt self-conscious, but I continued singing.

The Narnians who heard applauded when the song ended. Peter grinned at me.

"I think nearly everyone disagrees with you on your statement that you can't sing." He joked. "Your voice is beautiful."

_A/N: Yeah, Peter's definitely flirting with her, isn't he! The song used in this chapter is _Kimi wo Nosete_ from Hayao Miyazaki's film _Castle in the Sky_. It is a very good movie, and I recommend all his films. Even if you really don't like anime in general, Miyazaki is really in a class all to himself. Check out the original Disney dubs of_ Castle in the Sky_, _Kiki's Delivery Service_, and_ Spirited Away_. You're really in for a treat with those. Until next time, my readers!_


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Okay, so starting in this chapter, we begin to know what time of the year it is because elecktrum has kindly allowed me to use her calendar. I'm just borrowing it with her permission. Again, reviews are appreciated and they help me battle writer's block. Fortunately, the case I had was much less severe than I had anticipated, only lasted a day, and even then I still had plot bunnies for this hopping around, but I never know when a more serious case will strike, so all reviews are great._

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><p><span>Chapter 7<span>

I had lived in Narnia for about a week. Lucy, after having insisted I stay at Cair Paravel, was my near-constant companion. By my side even more than Lucy was, if possible, was Peter. He seemed to make it his personal mission to make sure that I felt entirely at home. By now, I really did get the feeling that he had a crush on me.

My favorite place on the entire palace grounds was the gardens. I walked a different garden pathway every morning to wake up to the smell of a different flower. One of the most common paths I went on was the rose path. On one morning, I spotted a perfect rose in bloom. I stooped to breath in its welcome scent.

"I assume that roses are your favorite flower?" Peter's voice startled me, and I jumped slightly.

"Peter!" I laughed. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

He laughed along with me before coming up to me to join me in my walk. "Am I correct in assuming that your favorite flower is the rose?" he asked.

"Roses are very beautiful." I agreed. I looked around to make sure no one was watching us and then whispered to him, "but just between you and me, lilies are my absolute favorites." I looked at him. "Again, something tells me that you came looking for me. Did you come to ask me to sing again?"

"No," he responded. "Although I wouldn't mind hearing that song again. Actually, I came to inform you that the Harvest Ball of Frostmoon is tomorrow night. I was wondering if you would like to attend."

I sighed. I had grown up in an orphanage, been busy being a mother figure, or in a constant state of recovery from whip injuries. A "childhood" like that really didn't allow much time for dancing lessons. "I would like to come, really, I would." I told the High King. "But I have no idea how to dance."

"Is that your only reason?" he asked. He seemed to be laughing at my excuse. "If ignorance on how to dance is what's keeping you, then I certainly could remedy that."

"Now?" I asked, taking a step back in shock.

He stopped for a moment. "I have no pressing matters to attend to for the day. Of course, if you would prefer to wait until a later time, I understand."

"No – it's okay." I told him. "I was just . . . taken by surprise." I moved towards him and he took my hand in his own and then he gently put his other arm on my waist.

Peter smiled when he noticed my nervous gasps for air and the fact that I was blushing furiously. "Don't worry," he assured me. "I'm not going to do anything but teach you how to dance."

"I trust you." I said. It shocked me when I realized that I meant it. I mean, of course, since he was the High King, he would have a sense of honor, but I didn't usually trust people easily after Harriet and George had pretended to be nice and then tortured me regularly after Lorelei died. The fact that I completely trusted Peter came as a shock to me.

Peter began guiding me into a dance that seemed simple, yet complex at the same time. I stumbled a couple of times, each time casting an apologetic glance at my partner, but in a very short time, my movements were smooth and confident. Soon, we were twirling effortlessly on the path. How I had managed to learn such a complicated dance in such a short amount of time was a mystery to me, yet I was happy that now I could go to the ball without embarrassing myself with my inability to dance.

"You're a natural." Peter whispered to me. "I don't think I need to teach you anymore. Dancing seems to be a hidden talent of yours, just like singing." He pulled away, and I was surprised to feel saddened.

"Thank you." I said. "Now that I feel more confident about dancing, I suppose I will come to the ball tomorrow night."

Peter smiled at me and, before he left, kissed my cheek. The gesture left me startled. As I watched him leave, my hand went up to my face. The spot on my cheek where he had kissed me still tingled and I allowed myself a small smile. Maybe I was falling for him, after all.

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><p><em>AN: Oooh! I see some chemistry between them! Review and let me know what you think. Again, elecktrum is the one who owns the Narnian calendar._


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: All right, so here's the next chapter. As I am on spring break, as I mentioned a couple of chapters earlier, I will probably upload more regularly, but, again, no promises. Once again, I am just borrowing the Narnian calendar from elecktrum, a wonderful author. Her stuff is wonderful and you should check her out as soon as possible, if you haven't already. If you have, well then, go read her stuff again._

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><p><span>Chapter 8<span>

The rest of the day, and the next, passed by in a flash, and before I knew it, Lucy was assisting me in preparing for the ball. I rather liked the dress I was wearing now. It was a sea-foam green dress with swirls of darker green all over it. The bodice clung to my torso, but the skirt flared out beautifully. It was a bit low-cut, which I wasn't used to, but I still found it very pretty. Currently, Lucy was finishing braiding my hair.

"Peter was telling me that you're a natural at dancing." She said as she tied the braid so that it wouldn't come undone. "I saw you in the garden yesterday. You looked very happy."

"Lu, I sense you're just looking for an excuse to cause mischief." I joked.

Lucy giggled, a semi-wicked grin on her face. "Of course!" she responded. "As the youngest in my family, it's my duty to annoy my older siblings and whoever they're sweet on!" She gave another conspiratorial laugh just as there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." I called. Lucy smiled when Peter entered, holding something behind his back.

"I'll leave you two alone!" the Valiant Queen teased. Peter smiled and ruffled her hair as she passed. Turning to him, she gasped in mock indignation before turning and storming out, still pretending to be angry. Peter and I both laughed at her reaction.

"I brought you something." Peter said, bringing his hand out. In it, he held a beautiful white flower, its six petals arranged to look like a trumpet.

"A lily!" I gasped in delight. He smiled and went to my side, weaving the flower into my braid.

"It looks beautiful in your black hair." He complimented me, and he was right. The lily seemed to look even whiter and my hair looked darker. "If you don't mind, I would like to formally welcome you to Narnia tonight, in front of the court."

"I don't mind." I told him.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I will probably have to tell them what you went through before you came to Narnia."

I thought for a moment. "Don't tell them anything specific." I requested, finally. "Tell them I went through some rough times, and my condition when I was first found, but nothing more, please."

"Agreed." Peter said. "No mention of exactly what you went through shall be made."

"Peter?" I heard Susan call, knocking on the door. "It's almost time."

Peter and I both went to meet the other three and Lucy shot a mischievous smile in her oldest brother's direction when she saw the lily in my hair. I knew that, come the next morn, neither Peter nor I would hear the end of her teasing.

I took my leave and one of the Fauns, it may even have been Mr. Tumnus, escorted me into the ballroom. All the Narnians in the room looked at me with interest, since I was the only human in Narnia, aside from the Kings and Queens. The doors were soon flung open and the Four entered, the brothers escorting the sisters. Looking at them, I realized how truly tight their family bond was. It was as tight as the sisterly bond between Lorelei and myself had been.

The Four turned to the crowd assembled, all smiling. Peter began to speak: "Narnians! Friends! Today, while celebrating the harvest that Aslan has blessed us with this year, we also welcome a new friend to Narnia." He searched the crowd before his eyes landed on me. "Yvonne, will you join us, please?" he asked.

I made my way forward and the crowd parted for me. When I stopped, I curtsied to the royals. "Your majesties." I murmured. Peter took my hand and I turned to face the Narnians.

"Yvonne comes from the world of Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve," Peter explained. "A sennight ago, on the last day of Twirleaf, as he was returning from a visit to his family, Oreius came across Yvonne, as still as if she was dead. Oreius instantly found and alerted me as to what happened. I went with him, and both of us feared that Yvonne had gone to Aslan's Country, so great was the amount of blood that covered her. She had been tortured in her world and my royal siblings and I are all agreed that, until Aslan sends her back to that world, or brings her to His Country, Yvonne shall live here, at the Cair."

A roar of agreement came up from the Narnians, and I was relieved that they would accept me. Finally, I felt as though I had a home.

After the High King's greeting and announcement of my arrival, the dancing commenced. I was glad that Peter had taught me how to dance yester day, and that dancing came naturally to me, because there were some complicated dances. However, the creatures were all very forgiving when I stumbled, and the best thing was, they respected my privacy and none asked me about my past.

The best part of the evening was, when one of the slow dances began, someone behind me tapped me on the shoulder. I turned, and saw Peter. He smiled and held out his hand.

"Might I have a dance?" he asked.

Again, I curtsied, smiling back at him. "Of course, my king." I responded, taking his hand. He began the same dance that we had shared in the garden, and I realized he must have been thinking of the song that was playing now when he had danced with me in the garden.

"I hope I didn't reveal anything about your past that you didn't want revealed?" he questioned.

I laughed. "No." I assured him. "Actually, you said much less about finding me than I expected you to say."

He laughed along with me, and we danced in silence, simply enjoying each other's company. That dance was the last of the night, and I retired to my chambers. I pushed the windows open and I allowed the night air to cool my face. I reached up and gently, reluctantly, pulled the lily out of my hair. I went back into my chambers and put the flower on my vanity.

"Half-blood." A feral, female voice hissed. I spun around, frightened. Immediately, I was sucked back into my nightmare.

Two creatures stood there. Their bodies were pure darkness and the only thing I could make out of them was their fanged mouths and glowing, blood red eyes, exactly like the creatures that had killed my mother. But the thing that frightened me most was what the second figure had in its hand: a whip, one that had nine cords, but no orbs or glass shards at the end. _Harriet and George_.

I shrieked. "Aslan, protect me, please!"

The door to my chambers burst open. "Yvonne!" I heard Peter exclaim, fearful for my safety.

The one that had disguised itself as George, the one that held the whip, turned. "You can do nothing to stop us, human!" he declared.

"Yesss." The female agreed. A hand shot out from the swirling shadows that both figures were made of. A net made of pure darkness flew out and trapped me, causing me to fall to the floor.

The two took giant-bat like forms, and the female, the one that had disguised itself as Harriet, caught my net up as they went to the edge of my balcony. "This will be the last time you see the girl, ever, child king," she told Peter. "Our little Bridge here will give us what we want and all worlds will never again see the light." And then, both of them laughing maniacally, they leaped off the balcony, taking me with them, struggling to free myself from the net.

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><p><em>AN: Ohhh, crap. Now it's really beginning to get interesting. As you can probably guess, Peter is REALLY ticked off by this turn of events and Yvonne's capture. Now I'm going to do what the really good authors, such as elecktrum and WhereTheShadowsDie do in their stories and switch back and forth between POVs (points of view). The next chapter will be told in Peter's point of view, and then so on and so forth between Peter's perspective and Yvonne's._


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: I warned you at the end of the last chapter, but I'll say it again: This chapter is told from Peter's perspective._

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><p><span>Chapter 9<span>

I was in shock as I watched the two creatures fly away, carrying Yvonne with them. How dare they! They flew towards the northwest, and as they disappeared, my senses returned to me. Lion alone knew what they were planning to do with her, but whatever it was, I was certain they wanted to kill her. They had mentioned something about her being a bridge between Narnia and the Other Place and never-ending darkness.

I knew what I had to do. Instantly, I left her room and made my way to the stables. In my fury, I failed to notice my siblings.

"Peter," Susan asked, "where are you going?"

"Yvonne was captured." I responded. This announcement was greeted by three simultaneous gasps.

"When?" Lucy asked.

"Just now." I answered, impatience making my voice blunt. "You didn't hear her screams? I'm going to go after them." I moved past them and continued on my way.

When I reached the stables, Noraan, the Faun in charge of the stables, was surprised to see me, and even more surprised to see me in such a foul mood.

"Your majesty," he said, bowing repeatedly. "What brings you here at this late hour?"

"Yvonne was kidnapped." I replied, shortly, eager to be on my way. The sooner I was out of here, the sooner Yvonne was safe from . . . whatever it was that had taken her.

Noraan instantly went about saddling and preparing Lloryana, my palomino mare, for a long journey. I knew that he was moving as fast as he could, but to me, he seemed to be taking forever. A single second could cost Yvonne her life!

When everything was ready, I barely gave Noraan a nod of thanks as I swung up onto Lloryana. I instantly spurred her into a run, but soon, I began urging her to go faster. We constantly headed northwest, towards the borders of Giant territory. We made it halfway across Narnia by the time the sun rose. I allowed us a short break and ate some of the provisions that Noraan had packed for us, and then we continued on our way. I could tell that the Narnians we passed were shocked to see their High King riding so furiously, but I didn't care. I would only stop once I knew that Yvonne was safe.

By nightfall, we had reached the army outpost on the border of Narnia. I was beat, and so was Lloryana, so I decided to stop and allow us a few hours sleep. Oreius had made sure that Edmund and I knew that we had to rest before fighting, because we would be no good in battle if we were exhausted. I had expected the outpost to be empty, but I heard a voice from the air call down, "Well met, King Peter."

I looked up and saw the griffin Firewind gliding down. "Well met, good griffin." I replied. "What brings you here during a time of peace?" I inquired.

"I have been following the Shadows. Two of them passed over my family's residence not two hours ago." He replied. "They must be senior Shadows, if they can move around in the day. They carried something with them, something that looked vaguely like a human." This statement instantly piqued my interest.

"You say they had something with them?" I asked, hopeful.

"Yes," he responded, and continued giving me a report. "I couldn't see it clearly, but I saw that it was female, had black hair and wore a green dress."

I fell back, almost laughing in relief. Yvonne was still alive! "That person was my friend Yvonne." I told Firewind. "They kidnapped her, and I have followed them out here, in hopes of finding her." I got up and moved to Lloryana, determined to press on.

"Majesty," Firewind stopped me. "I must advise you not to do this. The Shadows are strongest at night. If you're intent on rescuing your friend – "

"I am." I broke in, firmly.

"You'll be no good to her when you're dead." Firewind told me. "I followed them to their palace, the Castle of the Night. It is but a few hours flight from here. I shall take you there myself. If we leave at dawn, we shall be there at high noon, which is exactly when we want to strike, because that's when the Shadows, even the senior ones and their leader, are at their weakest." I couldn't tell, but it seemed like Firewind smiled encouragingly at me. "Rest now, King Peter. At dawn, we shall leave."

I settled down and tried to rest. Worry about Yvonne made it almost impossible to sleep and I sighed. It was going to be a long night.

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><p><em>AN: The next chapter will be told from Yvonne's perspective, and I will continue switching between their different points of view until they are together again._

**_PLEASE __READ!_**_ Since today begins the Tridium, (the Three Days leading up to Christ's resurrection from the dead), I will not post any more chapters in order that I might get into the correct mindset appropriate for these solemn days. I promise that I will upload several chapters first thing Easter morn, as soon as I wake._

_The Lion protect you all._


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: Christ is risen! Alleluia!_

_Okay, so I just got home from my churchs Easter Vigil service and I decided that I care about you guys so much that I wasn't going to make you wait any longer for another chapter. This one is from Yvonne's point of view and it is her experience with all those Shadows, and she finds out what really happened to Lorelei (who, in case you've forgotten, was her twin sister)._

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><p><span>Chapter 10<span>

When the creatures had arrived at their dark castle, I was taken to one of the highest towers, clearly where they kept all their prisoners. The net in which I was entangled was thrown into an open window and I landed, not too lightly, on a stone floor. More of the shadow monsters instantly converged around the net and hauled me out of it. They took me into the nearest room, the one right next to the window that I had been thrown into, shoved me against the wall so that I was sitting against it, and made quick work of securing my hands next to my head with steel manacles that cut into my wrists. As soon as this was done, the creatures left, but I could hear them celebrating outside.

Time seemed to have no meaning in this place, in the dark, and I had no idea how long I waited in the dark. After what seemed like an eternity, the door to my cell creaked open and two of the demons entered. One of them I recognized because of the whip. Then the other spoke.

"I am Nightshroud." He said. Instantly, I hated his voice. It sounded like millions of stone spiders all rubbing their legs against other stone. "I am the leader of the Shadows. We are so close to completing our goal. But, in order for us to reach the finish line, we require your help, half-blood."

"Why do you need me?" I asked, even though I was afraid of the answer. "And why do you call me half-blood?"

Nightshroud laughed. "Wouldn't it be obvious?" he asked. "Your mother was from the same world as those pitiful children who call themselves the rulers of Narnia, but your father was Narnian, through and through. Your father didn't leave your mother, your mother preferred the earthworld over Narnia and left him while she was pregnant with you and your pitiful sister."

"Don't talk about Lorelei that way!" I demanded. This outburst earned me a slap in the face from Nightshroud.

"I really don't think you're in a position to make demands, half-blood." The Shadow said. "And now, in answer to your question why we need you, we need your blood. The blood of a Narnian will help us cover Narnia with our darkness, and the blood of a human will allow us to cover the earthworld in darkness, but your blood will allow us to bridge the two and spread our darkness over both."  
>"There's no way that I'll <em>ever<em> give you my blood!" I shrieked.

"You really don't have a choice," the other Shadow said. "If you agree, you'll be sacrificed, and all your blood will build our bridge, and if you refuse, well, then, we'll still sacrifice you and use your blood." I gasped in horror while the two demons laughed.

"Don't worry, though. Unlike your sister's, we'll make sure that you're death is painless," the second Shadow said.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "My sister committed suicide. How do you know."

"What did we do to her, Blackspawn?" Nightshroud asked. Both faked remembering for a second; somehow I knew they were doing this just to aggravate me.

"Oh, I remember!" Blackspawn said. "We gave her that mind poison. One look in her eyes, and her brain instantly began decaying." I gasped, repulsed at this revelation. They had been responsible for my sister's death? She had not killed herself out of grief, but out of insanity? "It was wonderful watching our poison take it's toll." Blackspawn remembered. "That's the only reason why Darcy and myself took you to see her every day, so that we could see her suffer." I let loose a mixture of a scream and a sob at learning my sister's fate.

"I enjoyed killing your mother." Nightshroud said. "The look on her face when she realized that I was unbeatable at night. Oh," he sighed relishing the look of agony on my face, "I made quick work of her, don't worry."

"And now, half-blood," Blackspawn said, grabbing my face and forcing me to look at him, directly into those red eyes. "It's time for you to know exactly what lengths we're willing to go to in order to achieve our goal."

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><p><em>AN: Happy Easter everyone and, as an Easter gift, you get more than one chapter! Next chapter is from Peter's point of view._


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: Okay, so I'm sorry that this chapter's kind of short, but it was originally combined with the next chapter in Peter's perspective (sadly, the next one will be the last), and I decided that I wanted to have one more chapter from his point of view, so I had to draw the line somewhere and that unfortunately forced me to cut this chapter and the next one kind of short. _

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><p><span>Chapter 11<span>

"Sire, it's time." Firewind spoke up. As I had suspected, it had been a very long night. I had barely gotten any sleep; I was so worried about Yvonne and what could be happening to her. Even though I was worn out from all the hard riding, I was determined to do everything I could to save Yvonne. Only when she was safely back in my arms would I rest. So when Firewind told me that dawn had arrived, I instantly sprang up, eager to be on the way.

I went to find Lloryana, and she came to me, apparently under the impression that we were continuing. "Sorry, girl." I said, stroking her mane. "You need to wait here for us. Firewind and I will be back, hopefully by evening. And we'll have Yvonne with us." The mare nickered in understanding. I took the knife that Noraan had packed from her saddlebags, and then I went to Firewind. He crouched down, allowing me to climb onto his back.

"Let's go." I said. Firewind nodded, spread his wings, and took to the air. The wind roared, and I ducked so that we could reach the Shadows' fortress even faster. The miles melted away under Firewind's wings, and his prediction that we would reach the Shadows by high noon proved correct. The sun was at its peak when a black castle, perched at the top of a high mountain, was visible on the horizon. It seemed to shift, since shadows swirled around it.

"Yvonne's in _there_?" I asked, now more fearful for her safety than before.

"Unfortunately, yes," Firewind responded. "In one of the topmost towers. I was scouting all night as you were resting. I know which cell she is in. I heard her screams all night."

"I'm coming, Yvonne." I promised. "Don't die, _please_."

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><p><em>AN: So the next chapter is from Yvonne's perspective, and also another character, a very familiar one, will make his first appearance._


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N: So, another very familiar character from Narnia makes his first appearance in this chapter: Aslan! This chapter is from Yvonne's point of view and she learns more of her history from Aslan and He comforts her on matters such as the family that she never knew._

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><p><span>Chapter 12<span>

I was broken. Completely. Utterly. _Shattered_.

During the course of the night, I had been taken out of my cell, and the creatures had gleefully described every single way they could possibly kill me so that they could get my blood. But the worst was how they had described the torture they had inflicted upon Lorelei by poisoning her mind. These Shadows had killed my sister just because she was _young_, and they didn't have a single shred of remorse for their deed.

I knew that I looked terrible. If possible, I was even more of a mess than I was when I first came to Narnia a sennight ago. My dress was torn to the point where people might start casting unwelcome glances at me, my hair had so many knots in it, I was sure it would have to be cut short, there was a large, dark purple bruise on my cheek from where Nightshroud slapped me, and I was bleeding again because of that whip, though I had only received thirty lashes this time. It turns out that that object was enchanted so that I would feel the pain after a set number of lashes; that must have been how I survived the hundred.

As dawn had approached, Blackspawn shoved me back into my cell and once again secured my hands to the wall. I didn't care what happened to me. I found myself wishing to die, just to end the pain. "Aslan, I need you." I whispered. "I'm scared because I'm going to die tonight, and I need to feel your comforting presence."

Moments after I finished speaking, a light shone from across my cell, and a sense of peace washed over me. I looked up . . . and into the golden eyes of the Lion.

"Oh, Aslan," I breathed. "I'm so scared of what's going to happen tonight. Tell me," I begged, "will I be in Your Country tonight?"

Aslan smiled. "No, dearest." He said. "Your time is not tonight. Your time is far into the future."

I sighed, partly in sadness, because I had hoped that, if I died tonight, I could see my sister again. "Aslan, is it true that I'm a half-blood?" I asked.

"That is true," the Lion responded. "Your mother, Rosalyn, came to Narnia before the White Witch and she helped the Narnians in their first encounter with the Shadows. One of the soldiers was a river god named Cyrun, and, after the battle, they eloped. However, two months before you and your sister were born, the Shadows struck again, and I knew it would be dangerous for your mother to give birth with Shadows crawling all over the land, so I sent her back to England, for her safety, as well as for her unborn children's safety. Your mother returned to Narnia several times to fight the Shadows during the Witch's reign, but several times, she was nearly killed, so I sent her back to you. The last time, she fought Nightshroud himself, but he overpowered her."

"And he plunged his sword into her heart." I finished. I looked at Aslan. "Did you send my sister and me that vision of him killing her?"

Aslan shook his head. "Nightshroud must have sent it, to warn you of what would happen if you challenged him as Rosalyn did."

I hung my head. "Why did he order for my sister to be poisoned?" I asked. "Was it really because she was young, as they said?"

"In a way, it was." Aslan told me. "Your mother was distant from you and Lorelei in order to protect you from the Shadows. Since you had to act as a mother figure to your sister, you could no longer see them for what they are unless they revealed themselves to you. Your sister could, however, and that is why Nightshroud ordered the poison to be distributed to her, so that she could not warn you and let you know what had adopted you. I made sure there was as little pain as possible, but the poison decayed her mind, and pain always comes with that."

I sobbed, knowing that my sister's childhood innocence had been the cause of her death. I did take comfort from the fact that I knew that she wouldn't feel any more pain ever again.

"Now, daughter," Aslan said. "It is almost time, and I must go." He came forward and planted a Lion's kiss on my forehead.

"Aslan, please don't leave." I begged. "This is the most peaceful I've ever felt since Mother died. When you leave, I'll be reminded of the horrors waiting for me outside that door."

"I shall be with you always." The Lion told me.

"Wait, please," I begged. "I know I'm being very bold asking this but . . . tell Lorelei that I know that she was poisoned. And tell her that I love her."

Aslan smiled. "I shall." He promised. The light then faded and Aslan was gone, but I still felt comforted because I knew He was watching over me. I was afraid of what the Shadows would do, but I knew that, no matter what happened, Aslan would constantly be there.

What was it that He had said? "Your time is not tonight." I hoped that meant that someone would rescue me.

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><p><em>AN: So that's how Yvonne gets a relation with Aslan. Next chapter will feature Peter speaking._


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: Okay, I'm going out of town for today and tomorrow and, because I love you guys so much, I'm going to upload yet another chapter! I will try to upload Tuesday evening, but that chapter is not yet complete, but it almost is, so I'll see what I can do. This is the last chapter where Peter narrates, and it is easily the shortest chapter that I've written, but like I said, I broke up this chapter and the last chapter that Peter narrates. So I hope I can update on Tuesday, but no promises._

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><p><span>Chapter 13<span>

Firewind waited for a moment, after making sure he wasn't visible from the Castle of the Night, before continuing. "We have to make sure that there aren't any senior Shadows lurking," he explained to me. Apparently, the regular Shadows couldn't come out in the daytime, but the senior Shadows were strong enough to withstand the sun's rays.

He flew up to a window and waited for a moment. "It's this one," the griffin confirmed.

With a sweep of his talons, he broke open the window; an opening that Yvonne and I could easily jump out of once I had her back.

"She's in the first cell on this wall." Firewind told me. I nodded my thanks and then leaped into the hole.

When my feet hit the stone floor, it was absolutely silent. I doubted that anyone but Firewind, Yvonne, and myself would even know I was here, at least until nightfall. I heard faint sobbing coming from the door on my right, and I immediately assumed that was where Yvonne was being kept.

Drawing the knife, which I was thankful that I had kept, I sighed. Picking the lock on the door was going to take some time, but searching for the keys would probably take even longer and run a higher risk of failure.

"It's never too late to learn." I told myself. And then I set to work on picking the lock.

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><p><em>AN: You probably hate me for that cliffhanger! I'm so evil! Well, take comfort in the fact that you have _some_ idea of what's gonna happen in the next chapter._


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N: Okay sorry for that confusion that my refinements to chapters 9 and 10 might have caused you. But, here is chapter 14. As soon as I got home from my family visit, I rushed to the computer and finished the chapter (I'm depriving myself of sleep so you guys can read this, don't I love you?). I will post chapter 15 as soon as I have it written._

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><p><span>Chapter<span> 14

I heard someone outside the door and my head snapped up. Was one of the Shadows coming back to torture me? Had my talk with Aslan lasted the entire day, and now I would be forced to willingly or unwillingly give them my blood? "I'm not afraid of you, whatever you are." I called out, silently cursing my voice for trembling and giving away the fact that, despite what I had just said, I was afraid. I heard the person on the other side of the door chuckle, as if he knew that, too. I heard the lock click and the door burst open.

"Peter!" I exclaimed in surprise and delight, but then a horrible thought struck me. "Wait." I told him. "What's my favorite flower?"

He looked confused. "You find roses pretty, but your favorite is the lily," he told me, proving that it was really him. "Yvonne, have they erased your memory? Two nights ago, for the Harvest Ball, I picked one of the lilies and put it in your hair."

I laughed in relief. "No, I remember all that." I assured him. "I was just afraid that you might have been a senior Shadow in disguise." He laughed along with me and then came forward. He held a knife in his hand, and with it, he began to pick the locks on the manacles that trapped me against the wall.

"When did you learn how to pick locks?" I asked. "That's not a talent I would expect a king to have."

"I taught myself how about ten seconds ago when I picked the lock on the door," he explained, which caused us both to laugh again.

When I was free, after rubbing my wrists (the manacles had cut into my skin harder than I thought!), I flung my arms around him. "Thank you." I whispered.

He returned the embrace, and we stayed like that for a moment. Soon, Peter whispered to me, "Come on. Firewind is waiting for us outside the window."

Peter led me to the window, which had a large hole smashed in it. A massive griffin was waiting for us just below the hole. He helped me get on and then he climbed on behind me. "Take us back to the outpost," he told the griffin.

Firewind flew far and fast, and by sunset, we had reached a small building that was built similarly to the army barracks that I had seen back at Cair Paravel, and I guessed this was the outpost that Peter had told Firewind to bring us to. As soon as we landed, Peter helped me to the ground and then hurried me inside so that I wouldn't be captured again.

I was silent for most of the night. I could tell that my silence was worrying Peter, but I couldn't bring myself to speak, I didn't even trust my voice; I knew that if I began to speak, I would cry.

"I'm going out to make sure those Shadows aren't nearby." Peter said, getting up. As soon as he was out of the room, I curled up and broke down. The shuddering sobs that had wracked my body when I first came to Narnia were nothing compared to the hysteria that I was experiencing now. The stings of the whip scars were as fading scratches on a knee from and unfortunate run-in with a rock compared to the permanent emotional agony that had been inflicted upon me during my imprisonment.

"Yvonne?" I barely heard Peter come up behind me, but I felt his hand on my shoulder. Apparently, my sobs had been too loud and he had come back immediately.

"Hold me." I begged. As I stood up, I turned around, and then I clung to him. He seemed a little startled by my actions at first, but in moments I felt his arms around me. One of his hands gently stroked my hair and I could feel the tangles coming out. At that moment, I thought, the only thing more comforting than the feel of Peter's arms around me would be Aslan. Eventually, my tears subsided enough for me to hear a person speaking at normal volume.

"Yvonne," Peter said. "I'm not going to make you relive what you went through in there right now. But, soon, you need to tell me exactly what happened to you so that I know how painful for them my revenge needs to be."

"It's not what they did to me." I sobbed. I pulled away slightly and looked up at him. "It's what they did to Lorelei."

"Listen, Yvonne." Peter's voice was fierce. "I can tell that you loved your sister very much. In fact, from what I can tell, the only person you love more than Lorelei is Aslan." I nodded. It was the truth. Peter continued: "I'm not going to pretend that I knew your sister. But by killing Lorelei, they hurt you very much, and I'm not going to let that pass me by unnoticed. I promise you that whatever they did to you and your family will be paid back a hundredfold when I introduce them to Rhindon."

"Promise?" I asked.

He smiled at me. "I swear this to you by the Lion's Mane." Then, leaning down, he sealed his pledge with a kiss. Never before had a man kissed me. At first, I stiffened in shock, but soon, the feelings that I had for him emerged in full force and I leaned into the kiss, accepting his promise.

When he pulled away, I felt sad, yet I was also happy that he had the same feelings towards me as I had towards him. So I began to tell him exactly what had happened to me, beginning when they had flown off with me.

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><p><em>AN: You guys are probably thinking: "FINALLY! It's about time you have them kiss!" Okay, I have not yet started writing chapter 15, but it will probably be posted, if not Wednesday night, then Thursday night, I'm a pretty fast writer. Love you guys!_


	15. Chapter 15

_A/N: Okay, it is confirmed. Junior year of high school is worse than writer's block. If someone tells you that high school is fun, immediately contact the authorities. That person needs to be locked in the highest level mental health care institution as soon as possible._

_I am SOOO sorry this took so long to update! I didn't have the time to write, since school would NOT GIVE ME A FREAKING BREAK FROM THE FREAKING HOMEWORK! Anyway, here's chapter 15 (Final-FREAKING-LY!). Enjoy._

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><p><span>Chapter 15<span>

When I finished reliving the horrors, Peter was not happy. And that's putting it mildly. I could feel the fury radiating off of him in waves. In fact, had I not reminded him that it was nighttime (when the Shadows were at their strongest) and that the only weapon either of us had was his knife, he probably would have insisted that Firewind fly back with him to the Castle of the Night and battle the Shadows until they felled him. But when I pointed these things out, he calmed down somewhat, even though I could tell that he was still furious.

When we went to sleep, Peter made sure that his hand was always resting on my arm. If I moved, he made sure to move with me, so that he could feel if I was snatched away again. At first, I thought it unnecessary (I could always scream), but soon, I began to be comfortable with his touch.

The first thing I noticed in the morning was that Peter's hand was no longer on my arm. I would have worried, but my mind was too fogged with sleep. I heard movement and I jolted awake in surprise, fearing that the Shadows were making another desperate attempt to force me to give them my blood, but I needn't have worried. Peter must have woken only a few moments before me, and the noise I heard was him standing up. He smiled at me when he realized that I was awake.

"Good morn, Yvonne," he said.

"Good morn," I replied. As soon as I said that, I was reminded of the events of the previous day. I nearly laughed in relief; the knowledge that I had been rescued almost overwhelmed me.

Peter held out his hand and helped me up. "Are you ready to return to the Cair?" he asked me. I nodded eagerly. I wanted to get as far away from this place as soon as possible; the pain of the memories was far too fresh.

Firewind watched over me as Peter went to prepare Lloryana for the journey back. When Peter led Lloryana up to us, the mare nickered and bumped her nose against my head, apparently very relieved to see me. Peter gently lifted me up onto the mare's back, all the while being wary of my depleted condition, and then he swung on behind me. We rode hard across Narnia, and Peter told me afterwards that he was not going to let me spend another unnecessary second away from Cair Paravel. Personally, I thought he was being silly and overprotective, but then I remembered what had happened last night, and I knew that he was genuinely worried.

"Until this is finished," he told me when we stopped for a rest around midday, "you're having a guard wherever you go so that you can't be captured again." After we had caught our breath, we remounted Lloryana and continued to ride south and east back to Cair Paravel. By sunset, the beautiful turrets of the Castle of the Four Thrones were visible on the horizon.

Peter became hard-pressed to get me safely indoors before nightfall. The moon rose just as we slowed down to enter the stables. The Faun (Noraan was his name?) instantly came forward and assisted me in dismounting. As soon as Peter's feet touched the floor of the stables, Noraan was insisting that the High King allow him to take care of Lloryana and make sure that she was properly put up for the night. I could tell that Peter had no trouble agreeing; his mind was on making sure that I was safe. He hurried me from the stables and into the palace, making sure that he was always on the side that faced to the northwest and the Castle of the Night.

As soon as we reached the doors to my chambers, we were greeted by three enthusiastic cries of "Yvonne!" Instantly, the younger three royals flung themselves upon me, all happy to see that I was safe from danger . . . for now. The force would have knocked me over, especially in my weakened state, but Peter's firm arm around my waist kept me on my feet.

I was able to enjoy some peace as the remaining three royals welcomed me back to safety. But I was reminded about the seriousness of the situation when Peter spoke up: "This isn't over yet."

That startled his siblings away. Horror was etched onto all of their faces. I nodded, reaffirming what their brother had just said. "They want me." I reported. "They're trying to spread darkness. And not just over Narnia, but the world of the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve. And they intend to use me to bridge the worlds."

"But how could they use you to do that?" Susan asked. "You come from the same world we come from."

"I lived there, yes," I told them. "But only my mother came from there. My father . . ." I paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "My father was a river god. I'm a half-blood. This isn't the first time that the Shadows have struck. The first time any of my family had dealings with these demons was about six hundred years before the White Witch came. My mother, Rosalyn, came from the world of Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve to aid the Narnians in the fight. After the battle, she and the river god Cyrun, one of her fellow warriors, eloped. Mother spent most of her pregnancy here, but two months before Lorelei and I were born, the Shadows struck again and Aslan sent her back to her own world. For several years after, Mother would be called back to aid in the struggle against the Shadows. Sometime after the Witch came to power, Mother fought her final battle; when she was slain by Nightshroud." I looked up. The three who didn't know had expressions that were mixtures of disbelief and shock. I knew they were looking to their brother for confirmation, and that the grim expression that was surely on Peter's face now was all the proof they needed. I went on: "They need my blood because it would give them the ability to cross between this world and the other world, since my blood belongs to both."

"Do you know for certain if this is true?" Edmund inquired. "Who was it that told you this? If it was this . . . Nightshroud person, I would think it would be false."

"It was Nightshroud who told me about my family's history." I replied. "And I thought it was an untruth at first. But then, because I was so scared about what would have happened this night, I begged Aslan to comfort me, and He came. He told me exactly what happened. Nightshroud told me the truth. My mother and father really did come from the different worlds."

I paused to catch my breath. A sob was building its way through me. Peter held me close to him. "It's okay," he whispered. "They're not going to take you while I'm around."

I composed myself and smiled at him in gratitude before continuing: "That's why they need me: my blood can bridge the two worlds. And I could tell that they weren't going to rest until they had every last drop of my blood."

"Call a war council. Immediately." Peter declared. "We need to strike them before they strike us."

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><p><em>AN: Okay, so since I have a couple of days off from school, I hope I can put up the next chapter within the next couple of days, but I cannot promise anything. I love you all!_


	16. Chapter 16

_A/N: Well, I got Chapter 16 written a lot sooner than I thought I would. I had more fun writing this chapter than I did chapter 14! Just keep reading if you want to know why! By the way, I have a Kingdom Hearts fanfic up that is in _desperate_ need of reviews, so if you would be so kind as to go read it and review it, I would be ever so appreciative._

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><p><span>Chapter 16<span>

Since I was the only one who knew exactly what the Shadows wanted, Peter politely requested my presence at the war council. I agreed to his request, but my real reason was that I was planning to come along and fight as well.

"Our only hope is to strike them before they come back and try to use Yvonne to cover the worlds in Darkness." Peter was saying. "I say we move out tonight and strike them within three days. The minimum amount of time it'll take for us to get there is two days, but we'll allow a day for possible delays."

"You're forgetting something." I reminded him, gently. "The only possible way for us to get there in the shortest time possible is if the griffins agree to carry us. There's no way an entire army could traverse those mountains in a day and not be seen."

"That cuts back on the amount of soldiers severely, Your Majesty," Oreius commented. "The Centaurs and Fauns are not able to ride griffins, and, as you know, the dryads and naiads do not like to fight in battles."

"Yes," Edmund agreed grimly. "It looks like it'll just be you and me, Peter."

"Just a moment, Your Majesties," I broke in. "I'm going with you!"

"WHAT?" both of them asked, looking at me like I had quite lost my mind.

"Yvonne, you can't go!" Peter shouted.

My annoyance began to grow. I knew that he liked me, maybe even loved me, but I it sounded like he didn't understand why I wanted – no _needed_ – to go. "Pray tell me why I cannot go?" I asked, my voice hard.

Edmund spared his older brother from answering. "You could be killed!" he told me.

Now I was furious. I didn't care about that! "_They_ – killed – my – _SISTER_!" I shrieked, directing my indignation at both of Narnia's Kings. "_And _my mother, and I wouldn't be surprised if my father is dead at their hands as well. I don't care what you might think. I'm going so that I might avenge my family."

"Yvonne, it's too dangerous." Peter tried to argue with me, but there was no way I was staying behind.

I held up my hand, motioning for him to please stop his futile protests. "Answer me this," I said. "_Both_ of you." My head snapped around so that I looked Edmund in the eyes as well. "Imagine if either Queen Susan or Queen Lucy was killed because of this poison. Would you regard the danger? Or would you immediately go out and meet the Shadows in battle to avenge them?"

"It's no question that we'd avenge them." Edmund told me.

"My brother speaks correctly." Peter continued. "We'd immediately fight those demons without hesitation if a member of our family was killed by them."

I smiled. They had fallen right into my trap. I folded my arms. "Then allow me to avenge my family the way that you would avenge yours."

They had no answer. I had them. Finally, Peter spoke up. "Very well, Yvonne. You may come with us. But you shall follow our orders."

"Agreed." I said.

We left Cair Paravel at dawn. Queen Susan had kindly allowed me to borrow some of her armor, and, on my left hip, hung a sword made especially for me. The Red Dwarfs had mines located near the Cair, and they had worked through the night to forge a sword that I could use. I had thanked them for doing so, but they said that the best thanks would be for me to go out and fight with it, which was exactly what I intended to do.

Whenever we stopped for rest, Peter insisted on sparring with me. It seemed that I had inherited my mother's skill with a blade, because, when we stopped for the night after the first day of riding, Peter and I sparred until neither of us could lift our weapons anymore.

"Have you decided what to name your sword?" he asked me.

I hadn't really thought about a name. "I'll see after the battle." I responded. "I don't want to name it something that doesn't fit the sword's nature."

Two days after this conversation, we reached the outpost that Peter had taken me to after he had rescued me from the Shadows. This place also held a very special memory for me: this was where I had received my first kiss. It seemed that Peter remembered our kiss, too, even though he didn't say anything.

Three griffins were waiting for us. I recognized Firewind. One of the griffins, a she-griffin, was a beautiful fire-y gold color. She was the most graceful griffin I had ever seen, and since coming to Narnia, I had seen a great number of griffins. I instantly loved her.

She came up to me and dipped her head. "My name is Solar Fire," she told me. Her voice even sounded like the music of the wind brushing through the leaves. "But everyone calls me Soula."

"It gives me great pleasure to meet you, Soula," I told her. "Would you be willing to carry me to the Castle of the Night upon the morn?"

She nodded again. "That is why I'm here." She informed me.

We stayed at the outpost for the night. Again, Peter made sure that his hand was constantly on my arm so that he would know if the Shadows tried to take me again. Thankfully, the night passed uneventfully, and in the morning, Peter, Edmund, and I were mounted on our griffins, ready to fly. Soula flew a little behind Peter and Edmund's griffins. I was grateful for that, since I was still an inexperienced fighter, even though I was now as skilled as my mother had been in my vision of her getting killed.

I nervously fingered the pommel of my sword. There would be no going back, no matter how scared I was. "I don't know if you can hear me, Lorelei," I whispered ferociously. "But I swear by the Lion's Mane that I _will_ avenge your death."

Soula swooped down and I leaped off her back and into the courtyard of the Castle of the Night. Nightshroud, Blackspawn, Darcy, and several other senior Shadows were waiting. It looked like they had been expecting us, and there were a whole lot more than I expected!

"Attack." Nightshroud ordered calmly, and the senior Shadows surged forward. Peter drew his sword, Rhindon, and rushed forward to meet them, shouting "For Narnia!" Edmund and I both drew our swords and followed Peter into battle.

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><p><em>AN: "For Narnia!" Oh, man, that has become a real inside joke between myself and a friend of mine. That's part of the reason I had so much fun writing this, but also because of the scene when she's flipping out at both Peter and Edmund. She's kind of ticked off, isn't she? I also think I should mention: the griffin Soula was requested by another friend of mine who also goes to my school. She does not have a fanfiction account, so she will remain anonymous, but she is an awesome girl and she really wanted to have a say in a character that was in my story. Anyway, you know the drill. And read some of my other fanfics, too, please!_


	17. Chapter 17

_A/N: Okay, so this is it! The big battle with the Shadows that you've all been waiting for. Just a heads-up: there is a MAJOR twist at the end of this chapter. Yeah, another cliff-hanger. What can I say? I'm an author. We all have to have cliff-hangers sometimes. Love you all, don't forget to review!_

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><p><span>Chapter 17<span>

I will say this about fighting Shadows: they don't bleed. In a way, that was good news, since I was prone to become faint at the sight of blood that wasn't mine ever since I had seen Lorelei's body covered in hers. However, the bad news was that their bodies leaked a sort of mist that was a black as smoke and made it extremely hard to see. And eventually, we had to fight our way through layers of it. Not fun, I can tell you that right now. The other bad thing about that was we couldn't tell if we had landed a blow or not. The mist that the Shadows "bled" was nearly identical to the shadows that they truly were made of. The more of them we killed, the more there seemed to be.

I managed to hold my own in the fight, surprisingly. The only thing any of us had to go by to find the demons was their eyes. Stabbing them between the eyes was a good way to kill them, but the trick was getting our swords high enough to reach their eyes.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Peter dueling with Blackspawn. The Shadow seemed to be morphing into the form he had chosen to torment me in the human world. Unfortunately for Blackspawn, he was as vulnerable as a human now, and with a swift stroke from Rhindon, Peter decapitated the monster. That was all I saw of his fighting in the battle, but I knew, that if I came out alive, he probably would, too.

Unfortunately, the odds really were not in my favor _(1)_. Shortly after I saw Peter kill Blackspawn, Nightshroud came to battle me.

"Had you not decided to escape with the child, I would have made your death painless." He growled. "But now, all your deaths shall seem an eternity and your screams shall strengthen my army. And you, half-blood, shall have the honor of still being our bridge upon your death. My senior Shadows shall make sure that not a drop of your blood is wasted, and all of Narnia and the earthworld shall be subject to our rule."

"You're wrong, Nightshroud. Even if I die here, I know that the Great Lion shall defeat you." I hissed, sounding braver than I actually felt. "And I know that Aslan is protecting me now, He'll never let you get a hold of my blood."

"Your fate is sealed, then, foolish girl!" Nightshroud roared. He raised his dark blade, I raised mine, and we ran at each other.

As I had expected, Nightshroud was very skilled with a blade. But so was I, surprisingly. Every time Nightshroud attempted to do me in, I met him with a parry or a block. I even managed to strike him a few times with my own sword, which probably surprised him. But then he slashed my arm, and immediately, I felt myself weaken, since the arm he slashed was my sword arm. I switched to fighting with my left hand, but soon, Nightshroud cut that arm, too. I stumbled back and fell to the ground, weak from the loss of blood.

The leader of the Shadows stepped forward and began to draw back his sword. "Now this looks familiar. Where have I seen this before?" He laughed maliciously after a moment. "Oh, yes, I remember now. This is exactly the way your mother looked before she died _(2)_."

Hearing him describe Mother's death so gleefully was almost as enraging as hearing all the Shadows describe how they murdered Lorelei. I heaved myself up and slashed my sword across his front. He stumbled back from surprise, but he quickly recovered. He growled at me and began slowly moving towards me, now absolutely determined to make my death last as long as possible.

"Aslan, help me!" I begged.

A warm breeze blew across my face, and in the breeze, I heard the wonderful voice of the Lion whisper to me: "Raise your sword."

I had no idea what that might mean, but I did as I was instructed. I altered my grip on the hilt and thrust my sword upwards. The blade reached up, and it looked as though the tip would cleave the sky in two. In a way, it did. As soon as my blade was pointed skyward, a welcome ray of sunlight finally burst through the eternal net of clouds that covered the Castle of the Night. The beam struck the flat of my blade and reflected off of it. The sunlight struck Nightshroud directly where his heart would be. Immediately, the Shadow began to fade into nothingness from the light.

I looked up and growled, "That's for my sister!" Nightshroud smiled, and his last act was to look me in the eyes. As the demon died, I gasped in agony, clutched my head, and fell to the ground. I knew exactly what had happened: Nightshroud had administered his poison to me and my mind was disintegrating.

Vaguely, I saw that the covering of night was disappearing, the sun at last was shining its light on an evil place that desperately needed it, and the battle was over. But the pain soon dominated what was left of my mind, and I could tell that mine was unraveling much faster than Lorelei's must have. I saw Peter and Edmund's worried faces hovering over me, but everything was blurred from the agony. However, one face soon stood out, one that I could see clearly through the pain: the Lion. He stooped over me and gently breathed on me. Instantly, the agony was gone and everything came back into focus. I thought at first that the poison had claimed me, but moments later, Peter gathered me into his arms and crushed me to him. I returned the embrace with the same relief, silently winging thanks to Aslan, even though he was right next to us, for removing the poison from my body and mind. Barely had I finished the prayer, when Edmund also joined in the hug, also relieved that I had been restored to them.

When I was finally released from the tangle of arms, I turned to the Lion. I was already sitting down on the ground, but I bowed my head. "Thank you." I said, fervently. "Thank you for allowing me to defeat Nightshroud . . . and for removing the poison."

Aslan smiled. "Remember what I told you in the tower, dear one." He said. "Your time is far into the future." And with that, the Lion departed.

I went and retrieved my sword from where it had fallen. The place where the sunbeam had it still shone, and I suspected that the glow would remain there forever. I held it up, admiring the glow. "Now I know what to name this sword." I declared. "Its name shall be Sollys_ (3)_, for the sunlight reflected off of it to defeat the Darkness. And, if Aslan wills it, the sunlight caught in the sword now shall continue to glow forever."

"A very fitting name for the weapon." Edmund complimented. He turned and glanced at the towers, and I recognized the one I was held in. I shuddered at the memories, but Peter gently squeezed my shoulders and drove those horrid thoughts from my mind.

"I have a feeling that Yvonne wasn't the only unfortunate prisoner those demons captured." The High King spake. "We should search the palace for any captives. The dead shall be given a proper funeral, while the living we shall bring home."

We split up to search the three towers, with me searching the middle one. Most of the cells I checked were empty. However, about halfway through my part of the ransacking of the Shadows palace, I found a cell that kept a river god inside.

"It's all right." I assured him, rushing over and unlocking his chains. "I just need to get you out to the corridor. You'll be home in Narnia again soon." I promised.

The river god coughed. How long had he been away from his river? I shuddered to think. He then spoke in a rasping voice. "Which one are you?" he asked.

That question confused me. "I – I'm not one of the Four, if that's what you mean." I told him. "The Four Kings and Queens are pure-blooded humans, while I'm half human, half Narnian."

"I know." The man said. He turned his eyes on me for the first time. Blue eyes, bluer than Peter's eyes, even, caught my own. I froze. This man – he seemed so familiar. "Are you Yvonne, or are you Lorelei?" he asked.

"I'm Yvonne, but how do you know-" I broke off, gasping. Impossible! There was no way -! But then again, there was no other way. Of course this man was familiar. Even though I had never met him, I knew him. How could I not know him? I had his eyes

Shock and disbelief colored my voice as I asked "Father?"

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><p><em>AN: I'd be willing to bet the next chapter you guys were NOT expecting THAT to happen!_

_(1) Haha, slight little Hunger Games reference there_

_(2) I don't really like the Disney movie _The Lion King_, but that quote from Scar just seemed appropriate there, so I put it in._

_(3) Sollys is Norwegian for "Sunlight"_


	18. Chapter 18

_A/N: YESSS! I manage to squeeze out this chapter before end-of-year exams claim what remains of my sanity! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. By the way, the funeral mentioned in this chapter belongs to MissShakespeare72. Her story _Always_ is amazing and I highly recommend it!_

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><p><span>Chapter 18<span>

"Father?" How had he survived this long? I reached forward and my father grasped my hand. I began to stand up, trying to pull him to his feet. "You'll be all right." I whispered. "The two Kings and I will get you home to Narnia."

Cyrun smiled weakly at me. "I'm already at peace." He told me. He reached up and gently stroked my cheek. My breath stuttered. I was finally feeling my father's touch; the touch I had dreamed of feeling since I was young. Father continued: "I finally am allowed to see one of my beautiful daughters." He coughed once again and I knelt back down to his level. "Tell me… what of Lorelei?"

I hung my head. "She was killed." I sobbed. "But she has been avenged." I heard two sets of footsteps running into the corridor and, out of the corner of my eye, saw Peter and Edmund enter the room. But now, I barely paid them any mind. "Father-!" I was desperate. I knew that we had to get him back to Narnia, fast.

But I was too late. My father coughed one final time, and then he laid his head back and breathed his last. He had been separated from his river for too long and had dried out, only holding on long enough to see at least one of his offspring.

Peter slowly came forward and gently laid his hand on the body's forehead. After remaining silent for a moment to honor the dead, he spoke: "Aslan welcome you to His Country, good river god."

I carried my father's body down to the courtyard. Peter and Edmund gathered wood and built a funeral pyre. When it was built Peter came forward and he and I placed the body on the pyre with his head facing the east. Edmund lit a torch, making sure not to take one of the cursed torches with black flames that adorned the walls of the Castle of the Night. Reverently, the youngest King touched the torch to the funeral pyre and the three of us bowed our heads as the body burned. Silent tears trailed down my cheeks at the loss of my last family member. Peter held me close, but slowly let me go when the last of the flames died down. I went forward and picked up some of the ashes. I found one of the pouches that hung at my side. I emptied it of its contents and put the ashes inside. I wanted to have a piece of my father with me, the father that I had never known. His death saddened me greatly, but I was happy that I had been able to see him just before he died.

I picked up the other contents that I had taken out of the pouch that I had put the ashes in and distributed the supplies to the other pouches on my belt. I wasn't leaving anything behind; who knew if it might come in handy on the way back to Cair Paravel.

Peter's hand on my shoulder startled me. The griffins had arrived to take us back over the mountains and to the outpost in Narnia. Soula at first overjoyed to see me, but clearly my grim expression told her that I didn't wish to talk. In fact, I was quiet for the entire two-day journey back to the Cair. But, of course, it was impossible to remain sullen when around Lucy, and within hours of our return, she had me talking and laughing again. I knew that Peter would be eternally grateful to his youngest sister, since my silence had worried him to no end.

Three nights after the battle, I was once again in my room, fingering the pouch that contained my father's ashes. A knock on my door shook me from my reverie. "Come in." I called. As I expected, Peter entered.

"I know that you're still grieving from the death of your father." He said. "But you should know that a celebration is held for the victory, and it is scheduled for tomorrow night. As one of the warriors, especially as the one who slew the leader of our enemies, you are expected to attend."

"Why am I not surprised?" I murmured. "Very well, I'll be there."

In preparation, Lucy, of course, insisted that she spend the entire day preparing me for the celebration. "It just wouldn't do to have you moping while everyone else is celebrating!" she exclaimed as she forced me into what felt like the millionth new dress that day.

"Lucy, from what I've seen of Narnian celebrations, that's not going to happen even if you didn't insist on spending the entire day trying to cheer me up!" I laughed.

"Be that as it may," Susan said, coming into the room, "neither of us are taking any chances. You've been sulking around for the past three days." The Gentle Queen smirked with an uncharacteristically mischievous grin. "Besides, you do know that Peter will be the one escorting you into the ballroom, correct?"

"Wait, what?" I asked _(1)_. I certainly hadn't been expecting that! Both the Queens snickered at my startled expression.

"Yvonne, it's really no secret." Susan informed me. "My older brother fancies you."

"Exactly!" Lucy teased. "Why do you think he rushed off to rescue you when this whole fiasco started? And besides, I suspect what happened at the outpost." My look of horror returned and Lucy squealed in delight. "I KNEW IT!" she shrieked. "He kissed you, didn't he?"

Meekly, I nodded. I didn't have the strength to answer her. This drove Lucy over the edge. If she hadn't looked mischievous before, now, to me at least, she looked downright evil.

"Lucy, why are you so insistent on finding out this information?" I asked, knowing that I would never hear the end of this.

She giggled. "I've told you before: as the youngest in my family, it is my duty to annoy my older siblings and whoever they're sweet on!"

"She's not kidding." Susan assured me. "She's done it before." Judging by the look on her face, I gathered that her sister had annoyed Susan like this before. I didn't want to know what had happened.

"I think this dress would be appropriate for tonight." Lucy said, grinning and handing me a blood-red dress, probably to emphasize the warrior that I had been at the Castle of the Night. I couldn't help but grimace. At times, I suspected that the Valiant Queen had a macabre sense of humor and this was one of those times. I did not want to be reminded of blood, and anything of that color made me slightly sick.

Fortunately for me, Susan noticed that I looked apprehensive about wearing that color dress and quickly picked another one, this one was the same style as the red one, but it was a sunrise orange color _(2)_. "I think this one would look better, dear."

I smiled gratefully at her and went to change. This dress was not as lower cut as the green one I had worn to the Harvest Ball, and I was grateful for that. It was a little more form fitting, though, only flaring out at the feet, but it was still a beautiful dress.

Susan swept my hair up into a tight bun on the top of my head. "There. Now you look ready for tonight."

"Thank you both." I said. I immediately experience a sense of déjà vu when Peter knocked on the door. Both of the Queens smiled conspiratorially at each other as I left with Peter to go to the celebration.

The night was mostly uneventful, however I was forced to retell my story of the defeat of Nightshroud many times, and each time I dreaded more than the last. The upside of the night, though, Peter did claim more dances from me than he had at the Harvest Ball.

"Might I steal a few private moments on the balcony with you, Yvonne?" the High King asked after what must have been our tenth dance of the night.

"Of course." I smiled in response. "_My_ king." I couldn't help but feel a sense of triumph as I saw a blush creep up his cheeks. Finally, I had made him blush, since he seemed to have such a talent for making me blush. However, I could tell that he liked it that I had put the emphasis on "my."

Out on the balcony, we were silent for a few moments, simply gazing up at the sky and enjoying each other's company. The stars entranced me, it was one of the first times I had ever been able to look up and simply marvel at their beauty. It felt as though that all the years I had taken on while being a mother figure to Lorelei were melting away and I was now my proper age, eighteen, again.

"I never truly realized how beautiful the stars are." I murmured, leaning against Peter's side. "They're much closer to us here than they are back in the earthworld." What I had just said startled me. I was beginning to think of my mother's world as some foreign land and Narnia as home. Didn't I belong to both, since my parents came from the different worlds?

Peter let out a low rumble of a laugh. "Yes, the stars are mysteriously beautiful." He agreed. "Some of our histories and legends say that the stars are really people." He shifted so that now he was facing me. "And if that's true, then I've got the brightest star right here with me." Ever cautious, he reached up and stroked my cheek. My hand reached up and caught his, trapping it there.

"I haven't really had much time to let any men into my life." I confessed. "When you've had a life like mine, you focus mainly on just getting to the next day. But after coming here, I'm learning to become more open. And I know that there's only going to be one man who's right for me." I looked up at him. There were tears in his eyes, but he was smiling. "He's right here with me."

Feeling bolder than I ever had before, I leaned towards him, my eyelids fluttering closed. He seemed to anticipate what I was going to do, and our lips met. I could feel my Narnian blood burning in my veins and I knew that now my Narnian life would truly begin.

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><p><em>(1) Don't you just love moments like that in movies?<em>

_(2) My inspiration for this came from Katniss's second fire dress in _The Hunger Games_. That was really cool in theatres!_

_A/N: Okay, so this is the last update before summer. Exams are going to claim my mind, so don't expect an update until maybe June. Don't forget to review. New readers, if you add this story to your favorites or to your story alerts or whatever, I really do appreciate it, but I'd appreciate it even more if you left a review. I want to know that you're not just adding it so that you can get to it quickly because you found it only mildly intriguing or want to privately have a laugh with all your friends about my writing. Not trying to sound rude or anything, but please leave reviews. Besides, they help me battle writer's block._


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N: YESSS! Summer is HERE! I can finally work on this story without having to worry about homework and all that junk that accompanies school! This chapter is a little less "angsty" than most of the chapters. I hope you like what happens in this chapter. I was actually just rambling and then this is the result. It wasn't exactly what I had planned for this chapter, but then again, I don't really know what I had in mind for this chapter in the first place! Enjoy!  
><em>

_By the way, since we have month names again in this chapter, I would like to remind everyone that elecktrum is the one who owns the Narnian calendar and I'm just borrowing it._

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><p><span>Chapter 19<span>

After all the celebrations were over, I decided it was time to discover which type of Narnian I was. Since I was the first half-blood, I had a sneaking suspicion that my human side of the family would dilute my Narnian half. Peter eagerly threw himself into the search right alongside me, and it turned out that my suspicions proved correct: while my father had been a river god, my mother's blood gave me a passion for flowers and all things floral which made me a dryad in the Narnian world, a beech dryad to be precise.

Peter and I planted a sapling on the banks of the Beruna River, even though I could tell Peter would have preferred the tree to be on the very grounds of Cair Paravel. The young tree grew quickly, and both Peter and I knew that it would grow up to be a very strong tree, capable of surviving many years. But I also knew that my Narnian life was connected to the tree, as was the life of all dryads. When my tree died, so would I, at least in this world.

However, life was peaceful, even thought a few border skirmishes broke out between Archenland, and there would also be the occasional disruption from Calormen, far to the south. Unfortunately, the Giants to the North were not so peaceful, and the army would have to march out to settle them at least three or four times a year. Few times would I fight, even though Peter insisted that I keep Sollys. The closest I would ever come to fighting was a friendly sparring match with a fellow soldier, because I knew that they weren't _really_ trying to kill me; and they knew to stop if blood was drawn.

Two and a half years to the day of my entrance into Narnia was one of the best days of my life. Peter and I were on one of our regular visits to my tree. We visited the tree at least once every fortnight. We had just finished gently clearing the last of winter's final blizzard off of the tree's branches. Winter had finished late this year. It was now the last day of Lenisgale, and the last snow of the year had come only two weeks ago and was only now beginning to thaw. Coaxing out the first buds of spring was an easy task, if you knew how to best do it. "It's a beautiful tree." I murmured, admiring our handy work. "I think that's the best it's looked, even considering how Narnia's having a late spring."

"And its dryad is prettier still." Peter whispered in my ear. He remained silent for a moment, before turning to look me in the eyes. I was shocked at the serious expression on his face, yet I could also detect nervousness and (dare I say it?) fear. I had never seen the High King show fear; not even during the charge against the Nightmares. "I know that I'm being very bold right now, Yvonne. I fully expect you to reject me. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you wanted to go back to your mother's world after this."

"What?" I asked, shocked. "How could you suppose such a thing?"

Peter took a deep breath. "Yvonne, I -" he stopped. What was up with him? He began again after taking another deep breath, but soon broke off again.

"Peter!" I scolded. "I have never seen you this flustered before! Whatever you need to say to me, just SAY IT!"

Now Peter took several deep breaths. "Yvonne." He spoke slowly and softly. "I – I would like to seek your hand in marriage."

I was dumbfounded. He was _proposing_? No wonder he had seemed so flustered! Peter looked away, misinterpreting my shock as rejection. I gently reached up and turned his head so that once again, he was facing me.

"Search your heart." I whispered. "And when you do, you'll know that my answer has _always_ been yes. I was only waiting for you to ask me so that I _could_ say yes." When I said that, Peter's smile lit up the entire forest.

We were wed on the first day of Fairdawn. I can say, in all honesty, that I had never seen Narnia in more splendor than on our wedding day. Lilacs, red and white roses, yellow tulips, calla lilies, day lilies, gardenias, and violets decorated the hills, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Susan and Lucy were more than eager to be my bridesmaids, and Edmund even agreed to be Peter's best man.

When the vows had been exchanged and it was time for our first kiss as man and wife, Peter gently tilted my head upwards and brought me to him.

The Narnians rejoiced for the entire month. I had to get used to being addressed as a queen, but things soon settled down. That is, until our first anniversary. I suddenly began having bouts of nausea in the mornings and there was also a drastic change in my eating habits. I thought it was just some sort of illness that would soon pass, but Peter, being the worrywart that he was, insisted that I see the royal doctor. Far be it from me keep my husband worrying, so I went.

When my appointment was over, I found out that I wasn't sick. However, there was something else. But this wasn't only going to affect me. It would also affect Peter.

When I got back to our room, Peter was there, waiting for me. "What did he say?" he asked, urgently. "What's wrong?"

I took a deep breath, refusing to look at him. "You might want to sit down for this." I told him. That was probably not a wise move on my part. I could tell that this did nothing good for his nerves. But he did as I suggested. I clutched my stomach and continued. "I – I'm with child."

"So that means -" the shock in his voice was unmistakable.

I nodded and turned around. "In a few months, you and I are going to be parents!" As soon as I said that, Peter was on his feet. He crossed over to me in a single stride, wound his arms around me, picked me up and twirled me around before molding his lips against mine.

"Do you think twirling me around like that while I'm with child is a good idea?" I panted, laughing, after he broke the kiss.

He laughed as well. "Can you blame me for being excited?" he asked. I smiled and shook my head.

The Four did absolutely everything they could to make sure that things ran as smoothly as possible during the nine months before I could give birth. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, the pregnancy took its toll on me. It was painful as my spine was bent into an unusual shape in order to make room for the fetus.

And nine months later, in the middle of Lenisgale, it happened. I knew it was time for the child that I carried to come out into the sun. Peter instantly called for Lucy and the midwives, while he himself left the room. Susan came along with Lucy.

The birthing was _painful_! Even with the encouragement from Susan, Lucy, and the midwives, it was a slow process. My heart pounded in my ears for hours! If every scream I let loose worried Susan and Lucy beside me, I could only imagine what Peter was feeling as he waited for news.

But _finally_, after hours of pain, it was over. One of the midwives stood up, and, in her arms, she held a beautiful baby boy… my son. All that pain was instantly worth it as I took the child from the midwife and held him to me. I could definitely see both Peter and myself in this child. He had inherited his father's blonde hair, but I had given him those crystal-sea blue eyes. Susan and Lucy both had facial expressions of mixed reverence and ecstasy. I grinned at them.

"Get Peter." I told them. "He's probably ready to tear the door down just to see his new son."

Lucy grinned back at me before rushing out the door. "Peter!" I heard her call. "Come and meet your son!"

Moments after she had called out, Peter arrived in the doorway, nearly pushing past his little sister in order to get into the room. I could tell that he was eager to see his son, yet the truth that he was a father stopped him in his tracks.

He slowly walked to the bedside. Our son turned at the sound of his father's footsteps. The baby smiled at Peter and reached for him. That one gesture completely undid my husband. Peter began to reach back to the child, but then he stopped. "May I?" he asked.

I giggled slightly. "Since when does a father need permission to hold his own child?" I asked back as I handed the child to him.

The smile on Peter's face rivaled our wedding day. "Have you thought of a name?" he asked.

I nodded. "Cynric. It was the name of a medieval king in the earthworld." I responded. "What do you think?"

"It's perfect."

And for years after our son was born, life was perfect. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver were more than willing to give parenting advice to Peter and me whenever Cynric became unruly.

One day in Twirleaf, when Cynric was seven years old, Mr. Tumnus came to Cair Paravel. He informed the four siblings that the legendary White Stag, the one that would give wishes when caught, had appeared in his area of the woods. The Four were very eager to go, but I declined the offer. "Someone's got to keep Cynric out of trouble." I joked. "And he knows better than to get on his mother's bad side."

Peter kissed me before he left. "I love you." He whispered. "I'll make sure that my wish benefits all three of us."

"You'd wish that anyway." I laughed. He laughed along with me, and then he mounted Lloryana and set off with his siblings.

The day seemed to progress slowly with Peter and Lucy gone. Finally, well into the afternoon, I caught sight of the horses on the horizon. I smiled and turned to Cynric, who was keeping watch beside me. "Come, let's go to the stables and wait for father."

But when we got there, a horrible shock was already there waiting for us. The horses were still saddled and bridled, but none of them had riders. I quickly rushed to Philip, Edmund's horse, since Philip was the only one of the four horses that was a Talking Horse.

"Philip what happened?" I asked. "Where are Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy?"

"We came across a tree of iron with a lantern on top of it." Philip explained. "We horses had not seen anything of the sort before, but this strange tree seemed familiar to the Four. They went deeper into the forest, but they didn't come back. We waited for them for as long as we could, but still there was no sign of them."

I was heartbroken! Ever since Peter told me that he and his siblings came from the earthworld, I knew that one day he would have to return to the world of his birth, I just hadn't expected it to be so soon. "Could you possibly take me to that tree of iron?" I asked Philip.

"With a good will, majesty." Philip responded.

"Mother, I want to go with you." Cynric begged. I smiled at my son.

"No, dear, you have to wait here for now." I told him gently. I hated seeing him sad.

"But mom!" he whined. "When can I come with you?"

"When you're older, sweetheart." I smiled down at him from my seat on Philip's back. "But right now, mommy has to ride out alone." I tugged gently at Philip's reins and we were off.

When we reached the tree of iron, I saw that Philip's word was true. I looked down the path that my husband and brother- and sisters-in-law had disappeared down only earlier today. I was tempted to follow, but I knew that Narnia needed a ruler to guide them through this time, and I couldn't leave my son. So instead, I raised my right hand to my lips and blew a kiss, hoping it would reach he who had forever stolen my heart, and I whispered a promise after the kiss.

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><p>A world away, the boy who, only that morning, had been the High King of Narnia felt something gently touch his lips. And then a voice reached his ears, a girl's voice that sounded like the wind whispering through the branches. "We'll meet again." She whispered. "And even if our next meeting is in Aslan's Country, know that I'll always be waiting for you. I love you."<p>

Peter smiled inwardly, and then, softly, he began to hum the song of his beloved.

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><p><em>AN: Ohhhh, how sad! Let me remind you that _I _am the one writing this story and I know where I want this story to go, but sometimes, the sad events are necessary. By the way, with the flowers, I looked those up to find the ones that would be appropriate for a wedding. Lilacs represent first love, red and white roses represent unity, yellow tulips represent being hopelessly in love, calla lilies represent regality, day lilies represent enthusiasm, gardenias represent joy, and finally, violets represent faithfulness. I did extensive research on that to get it just right. Until the next chapter! You know the drill. Leave a review! _


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N: Hello, again. In this chapter, be warned, I am, once again a cruel author, but not as cruel as I will be in the next chapter. Great, you have something awful to look forward to, yippee. May I remind you that I'm the one writing this story, and I get to do what I want to do with this story._

_Again, I'm only borrowing the Narnian calendar from elecktrum. She is an amazing author, so, once you're done with this chapter, go check out her stuff._

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><p><span>Chapter 20<span>

Even dealing with the loss of the High King and his siblings, Narnian life ran smoothly. The creatures were happy that they had even one monarch who had ruled alongside the Four. It wasn't easy, trying to run a country by myself and raising a wild child, but I was able to manage. That is, until year 1018, three years after the disappearance of the Four, when King Caspian I of Telmar arrived with an offer.

"Queen Yvonne." He greeted me, bowing deeply. I was instantly on my guard. There was something about this man that I just did not trust. "I come to you with an offer to unite our two kingdoms. I ask for your hand in marriage so that Narnia and Telmar might recognize both of us as their rightful rulers."

I resisted the urge to snort in laughter. Both of us as rightful rulers? More like this Caspian wanted to rule both Narnia and Telmar alone, and he knew that Narnia would never accept him as king unless he was wed to its queen. "This is quite a generous offer that you have set for, your majesty." I told him, but my voice was hard. "However, when I married High King Peter, I vowed that I would remain faithful to him until _death _do us part. He is not dead, he has merely been sent back to the world of his birth for a while." I stood and stared the Telmarine king in the eyes. "Until I know for certain that Aslan has brought Peter to His Country, I will not remarry."

I could tell, from the look on Caspian's face, that he wanted entirely different results. "Does your lion even care about you?" he sneered. "He probably sent your husband from you for a reason. Maybe he sent your husband away so that you could marry again, this time to the more worthy king of Telmar, and thus we can join our kingdoms as one."

I hissed at him, not even bothering to try to disguise it. Several of my guards had already drawn their weapons, ready to fight. "You will never again mock the Lion, or High King Peter, unless you wish to die." I declared, venom seeming to drip from every word. "And I can see through all your empty promises. Leave Narnia within an hour. If you or any of your company stays is found on Narnian lands past the hour given you, our army will kill any who are unfortunate enough to be caught."

I could tell that this displeased the Telmarine king and his escorts. "I see that you need some time to consider my offer. I shall return in a year's time. I sincerely hope that you will make the right choice, one that will benefit both of our countries." Without another word, he and his escorts left. All of the Narnians in the room, including me, glared at their retreating figures.

"The audacity! 'Consider his offer'!" I fumed. "Of all the pompous, conceited, self-glorifying, power-hungry tyrants! How could he have even thought that I would consider marrying him, even for a second?" My ranting was interrupted by Caradoc, one of the faun guards outside the palace entering the room as though all the demons of the White Witch's army were chasing him.

"Pardon me, my queen," he said, bowing once. "But one of the escorts accompanying the Telmarine king has lingered in the palace. Caspian left here with one fewer escort than he arrived with."

Instantly, I was on my guard. "Form search parties." I instructed. "Search the entire palace and grounds, and leave no corner untouched. Do not stop until he has been found and either sent back to his ship along with the other Telmarines or killed for lingering on our lands." Caradoc bowed once and left to carry out my orders. I turned to Laurasia, one of my birch dryad friends. "Fetch Sollys for me, will you? Until this fiasco blows over, I'm not going anywhere without it." Laurasia nodded once and ran off, returning shortly after, carrying the sword I had used so many years ago in my first battle. I drew it and smiled when I saw the reflected sunlight still swirling in the depths of the sword.

I personally joined the search party combing the North Wing of Cair Paravel. We had just finished searching every nook and cranny in the second corridor of the North Wing before we heard a child scream in terror from one of the halls further down. Another scream followed, but was soon cut off. "Cynric!" I gasped, now certain of where the escaped Telmarine was. I led the search party as we raced to my son's room. I flung the door open and an exclamation of horror escaped my lips when I saw what awaited us.

The Telmarine was there, standing in the middle of the room. He was grinning sadistically, and he held a bloody knife in the air in triumph. My eyes travelled to the floor once again. Cynric, my precious son, lay dead in a pool of his own blood. In fact, the red liquid still trickled from his neck where the enemy had slit his throat. As I gazed upon my son's body, so brutally mutilated, instead of feeling faint at the sight of the blood, I felt a burning rage coursing through me. I snapped my head up and glared daggers at the Telmarine.

"My liege lord, the glorious King Caspian I of Telmar bade me give you this warning," said the Telmarine. "This is what will happen to many of your subjects unless you accept his offer. My master is not one to give up easily." The smirk never left his face, and it made me all the more enraged.

I let loose a feral shriek as I drew Sollys and rushed forward. "YOU WILL DIE!" I shouted as I dueled the murderer. But unfortunately, I was blinded by my fury, unlike in the Battle of the Castle of the Night against the Shadows, and my swings would often land on the walls, due to the Telmarine dodging my blows. I backed him up against the wall, but it seemed that that was what he had wanted me to do. Pushing my sword away using his knife (which was still streaked with Cynric's lifeblood), he leaped out the window.

"Find him!" I ordered, furious that I had allowed the murderer to flee with his life. "Ensure that he does not live another day!" The soldiers nodded, and, without a word, left to find and kill the one who had mercilessly ended my son's life.

As soon as I was alone, I fell to my knees, broken. I sobbed like I had only four times before in my life. I clutched my son's body to me and wept; part of me hoped that his mother's tears would bring him back to me, but I hoped in vain. "Oh, Aslan." I breathed. "_Why_? Why did you take my son from me so soon?" But this time, there was no answer. I wept for hours, and the Narnians knew better than to disturb me in my grief.

The next day, a funeral was held for Cynric. Never before had I seen Narnians so solemn and downtrodden. Even though it was end of Mayblossom, all the trees were bare as though it was the middle of Nor'Wind. After the funeral, Oreius came up behind me and gently placed a hand on my shoulder.

"This was an undeclared act of war." I growled. "And Narnia shall respond in kind." I turned to face the good general. "Send a messenger to Telmar and have him inform King Caspian that Narnia has declared war on Telmar."

"With a good will, majesty." Oreius responded.

In another month, the army from Telmar arrived. Actually, it looked as though King Caspian had brought every citizen from the island that he ruled. Upon his arrival, he asked to speak with me in private. Reluctantly, I agreed.

"I had hoped that it would not come to war." He lied, smiling a sickly sweet smile at me. He disgusted me as much as the Shadows did.

"If you had hoped that, then you would not have sent that guard to murder my son." I retorted. "Admit it; you wanted war from the moment you heard that the Four had vanished from Narnia." I didn't bother waiting for him to respond with words, the look in his eyes revealed that what I suspected had been true. "My army shall attack at dawn. Pray that your army is prepared as well."

At dawn, our two armies met on the fields outside Cair Paravel. "This is your last chance, Queen Yvonne!" Caspian shouted to me. "Accept my offer of marriage and your people will be spared."

"You know that I will always reject you, you cold-hearted tyrant!" I growled back. "Even more so because of the murder of my son!" I drew Sollys; the action causing my mount, Asgier, to become restless and eager to charge. "For Narnia!" I yelled to the sky. The Narnian and Telmarine armies rushed forward and the battle commenced. The battle lasted the rest of the day. Somehow I ended up fighting King Caspian. I was determined to not let my anger get the best of me, like it had the day Cynric had been murdered. I seemed to go into a sort of trance now. After the battle, the survivors told me that I had been moving as though I was performing a deadly, yet graceful, dance. Soon I had disarmed Caspian and I had my sword pointed at his neck.

"Did you even think for one minute that I or any Narnian would let you get away with ordering my son murdered?" I hissed, readying my sword for the kill.

The Telmarine smirked. "You surprise me, Yvonne." He whispered. I hated the way he said my name. His voice was tainted with lust, exactly the opposite of how Peter said my name. "But Telmar excels in battle technology, unlike Narnia." He smirked at something behind my back and I turned, ready to face this new threat.

War machines, which were later identified as catapults, were being marched onto the field. "Now!" Caspian shouted. On his signal, boulders were launched from the machines; which flew through the air, eventually hitting the walls of Cair Paravel. The walls of the Cair could not withstand the constant bombardment of the boulders, and soon began to fall.

I watched in horror, and all Narnians were frozen at the sight of the magnificent palace crumbling before our eyes. Eventually I gathered enough strength to call out: "Narnians retreat!" Asgier ran to me and I swung myself up into the saddle, staying behind until the last Narnian was off of the field. I cast one final glance at Cair Paravel as it crumbled to the ground, before riding after my people.

"To the woods!" I cried.

When we arrived at the Dancing Lawn, we stopped to catch our breath. I slid off of Asgier, but immediately fell to my knees on the forest floor. "We… lost." I murmured in defeat. "It's over. We lost. Oh, if only Queen Susan's horn was not lost when she disappeared!"

Tumnus came up behind me,. "We can strike back at them." He assured me. "But we must wait for our army to gather strength in order to match them."

I looked up at him and smiled, some of my confidence regained. "You're right, Tumnus," I realized. I stood up and faced all the Narnians. "We shall remain in exile here in the woods until the time comes to defeat the Telmarines. And when we strike, we strike without mercy!" The Narnians cheered, roused by my speech, and immediately threw themselves into training.

Over time, small parties were sent into the lands that the Telmarines had overtaken. Yet every time, only one returned, each with a report that the condition of the land was steadily worsening. One brought back news that King Caspian I was calling himself Caspian the Conqueror and had ordered a new palace to be built on the western side of Narnia, somewhere near Cauldron Pool. Eventually, my people, one by one, resigned themselves to a permanent exile in the woods, since no one could sneak up on the Telmarines. I lost hope last of all, desperately hoping for the Four to return and restore hope, but, after several months and no sign of either the Four or Aslan, I too, retreated deep into my tree. My last thought before going to sleep was a prayer to Aslan, begging Him and the Four to come and help us.

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><p><em>AN: Remember in _Prince Caspian_ when Trumpkin says: "It wasn't long after you lot left that the Telmarines invaded."? Well, this is when they invade! Yeah, I am an evil author for killing a child. Rest assured, this story will eventually have a happy ending! Until the next chapter and you know the drill! R&R!_


	21. Chapter 21

_A/N: **I KNOW YOU PROBABLY DON'T READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTES, BUT PLEASE READ THIS ONE! **A head's up for this chapter: Here, I am PURE EVIL. I'd be willing to bet that, at the end of this, you will be flipping me off via computer. Just brace yourselves, this **chapter** does not have a happy ending, but I swear by the Lion's Mane that this whole story will have a happy ending._

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><p><span>Chapter 21<span>

I woke to the sound of a bugle, but this sound was richer than a regular bugle. It took me a while, but I realized that the horn that had been blown was Susan's Horn! It had been found! With great effort, I drew myself out of my tree. Instantly, I started at the difference. The plants had grown completely out of control. I shook myself. I had to find the Narnians

It didn't take too long before I spotted a centaur. "Oreius?" I asked, since, from the angle I was looking at him, the centaur looked like the good general. The centaur turned, and I saw that it was not Oreius, but he did look like the general. "I ask your pardon." I murmured. "I thought you were General Oreius."

The centaur looked confused. "Good dryad," he said, "I am Glenstorm. Oreius was my ancestor."  
>"What?" II gasped in horror. "No… no, that can't be right. I went to sleep in Stormfall of 1019; this should be Quickening of that same year, if not the first month of 1020."<br>"Fair maid," Glenstorm said, placing his hand on my shoulder. "It is now Greenroof of 2303."

I gasped. "1300 years? I've been asleep for 1300 _years_?"

I could tell that Glenstorm certainly hadn't been expecting this. "You are from the Golden Age of Narnia?" After looking at my face, he himself gasped. "You cannot be… are you Queen Yvonne, the half-blood of legend who wed High King Peter?"

I nodded. "I am she."

Glenstorm bowed his head. "It grieves me to give you this news, your majesty," he said, "but you must know: the Telmarines have completely overtaken Narnia. There are even fewer Narnians than there were when we were forced to retreat here."

Tears made their way down my cheeks. Had the Narnians just given up?

"Take heart, my queen," Glenstorm said. "The horn has been found and blown. Maybe this means that the Kings and Queens of Old, or even Aslan, will come back to deliver Narnia from Lord Miraz."

"Miraz?" I asked. I had not heard that name before.

"Miraz is the brother of the deceased Caspian IX, the ninth in descent from Caspian I." Glenstorm explained. "If you truly are from the Golden Age, you most likely would remember Caspian the Conqueror."

"Oh, yes." I growled. "I am more than familiar with the name Caspian I. He was the one who ordered my son murdered." I looked at Glenstorm. "Gather the Narnians at the Dancing Lawn. Tell them that the Horn has been blown, and help from old will soon be coming. I shall wait here, in case the Kings and Queens of Old arrive. When help arrives, or the one who blew the Horn comes, move to Aslan's How. It is a more defensible place than the Dancing Lawn."

"With a good will, my queen." Glenstorm said, and then he departed.

A thrill of hope went through me. Old Narnia could be restored!

A stick cracking broke through my thoughts. I whirled around. A Telmarine was there, a boy who looked only a little older than fifteen. I smirked at him. "You must be very brave or very stupid, to wander into our woods, Telmarine. Who are you?"

"I am Prince Caspian X." The Telmarine responded.

"You are the heir to the Telmarine throne?" I asked, feigning interest. "Well, then, I imagine the Narnians will be very pleased… when I bring them your head!" I finished in a yell and unsheathed Sollys. Caspian had obviously not been expecting me to attack him, as so he stumbled back, fumbling to draw his sword. Something fell out of a pack at his side. I looked at it, in disinterest, but I froze in my tracks as soon as I saw what the object was: lying on the forest floor was the Horn.

"How did you come across Queen Susan's horn?" I hissed. "And what are you doing here?" In order to make him more comfortable telling me the story, I sheathed Sollys. "I swear by the Lion's Mane that I will not harm you until you tell me the full story."

"My uncle, Lord Miraz wants the throne that is rightfully mine." Caspian explained. "When my aunt, Prunaprismia, gave birth to a son, he ordered his general, Glozelle, to kill me in the night. My professor, Doctor Cornelius, helped me escape. He gave me the horn and explained that the stories of Old Narnia were not stories at all. I was the one who blew the horn, in the hopes that maybe your Kings and Queens of Old, or even Aslan, would come to help me defeat my uncle."

"Wait," I said, confused. "You… _want_ the Kings and Queens of Old to come back to Narnia? I would not have expected a Telmarine to say that."

"I promise you," Caspian said, "once I take back the throne, I will give Narnia back to the Narnians."

I thought for a moment. "You are not like most Telmarines." I marveled. "I should know. I fought your ancestor, Caspian I."

"Would you be Queen Yvonne?" Caspian gasped.

"The same." I smiled.

"Then it was your son that my ancestor had killed." Caspian knelt. "I owe you a blood debt, then."

I shook my head and helped him stand. "I will not take the debt from you." I assured him. "If you would restore Narnia, then I would not take away the hope that you would bring to my people. If Miraz is as evil as you say, then his blood would satisfy the debt." I smiled at him and pointed the way to where I instructed Glenstorm to gather the Narnians. "The Narnians are gathering at the Dancing Lawn. If you make haste, you should arrive there by nightfall. They will move to Aslan's How once you arrive, because the How is more defensible." I looked him in the eyes. "Aslan's blessings go with you, Prince Caspian."

Another day passed and I waited, in the hopes that the Kings and Queens of Old would arrive. Suddenly, at high noon, a searing agony erupted in my body and I let loose a blood-curdling shriek as I collapsed to the ground. This was the worst pain I had ever felt, including when Nightshroud had administered his mind poison to me. I knew that my tree was being cut down and the agony was my thread of life slowly being frayed until it could hold no longer.

"Yvonne!" I heard a familiar voice shout in horror. At first I wondered if it was Caspian, but then I remembered that Caspian had a different accent. I racked my mind for the memory of anyone who had an accent such as that. Suddenly, I suspected I knew who it was, but… it couldn't be! Could it?

I turned my head, and stormy blue-gray eyes met my crystal blue ones. "Peter!" I gasped in relief. "You came back!" He was younger than I had ever seen him, looking about fourteen, but he still showed the same love and concern in his eyes.

"It looks like I came back not a moment too soon." He said. He turned to Lucy. "Lucy, get your cordial out."

"No, that won't work." I told him, my voice growing weaker by the moment. "My tree is being cut down. I won't survive this no matter what." I groaned in pain before telling him what he desperately needed to know. "The Narnians are preparing at Aslan's How, along with Prince Caspian." I looked directly into Peter's eyes. "Do not blame him for what has been done to our kingdom; he will help restore Narnia."

Peter gently lifted me to him. "Yvonne…" he didn't get any farther before tears began flowing from his eyes.

"Shhh." I whispered. I reached up with the last vestiges of my strength and gently wiped away a tear from his cheek. "These eyes shouldn't cry." But even after I said that, Peter continued to weep, knowing that this would be the last time he would ever see me in this life. Slowly, he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine in our final kiss.

Peter's kiss is the last thing I feel. From somewhere in the distance, Aslan's roar reverberates across the land and it is the last thing I hear. My tree then falls, and the last bit of life to which I am clinging slips away from me, and in death, there is nothing but light.

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><p>Peter gently laid Yvonne's body to rest on the forest floor. Her lips were slightly parted from their last kiss and her eyes were closed. Her hair was splayed out, and it partially covered one side of her face. Peter gently brushed her hair back, and as his hand left her face, Yvonne's body dissolved into beech leaves.<p>

Peter solemnly picked up one of the leaves that had been her beautiful hair. "I swore this to you when we had our first kiss." He growled. "And here, over your remains, I renew my vow: I swear by the Lion's Mane that your death _will_ be avenged, my queen."

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><p><em>AN: Don't say that I didn't warn you. Because I did. Hey, maybe this is why Peter was so determined to carry on with the Night Raid in the movie even though he probably knew that it would fail._

_Allow me to remind you that, even though I had to have this chapter end this way, I will not end the story on such a sad note. I'm sorry, but Yvonne has to see her sister and her son again._


	22. Chapter 22

_A/N: Three months to the day I began, and now, alas, it is time to draw this story to a close. Before I begin, thank you everyone who took the time to review and gave me encouragement in this, Bianca T. Sparrow espeically, for your constant enthusiasm and critisism so that I could really move this story along. _

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><p><span>Chapter 22<span>

"Awake, daughter."

My eyes fluttered open at the golden sound of Aslan's voice. Upon awakening, I found that I was lying in a meadow, with blooming spring flowers all around me. This struck me as slightly odd, since, according to Glenstorm, Narnia was entering Greenroof. I pushed myself so that I was eventually standing up. Suddenly my head shot up, and I saw the Lion, standing aways in front of me.

Immediately, I fell to my knees in respect. Yet as the Great Lion came forward, everything came flooding back to me: the Telmarines cutting down my tree, Peter's kiss… my death. A small crystalline tear began to leak from my eye. But as soon as those painful moments were brought to the forefront of my mind, they were immediately banished when Aslan planted a Lion's kiss on my forehead. I looked up, buried my face in His mane, and wept. I wept for the poisoning of my sister, the disappearance of my mother when she was killed, the drying out of my father, the murder of my son, and lastly, the fact that I myself had died in Peter's arms.

Aslan said nothing as I soaked His mane with my tears. "I'm sorry, Aslan." I sobbed as the last of my tears ran out. "I guess the memory of my own death brought the pain of the deaths of my family members back to light." Aslan nodded His great head in understanding as I wiped my eyes dry. As I looked into His golden eyes, I realized that that was the last time I would ever cry.

"Daughter, as a half-blood, you are dead in Narnia, you may never return there, but you are still alive in another world." Aslan told me.

His words confused me for a moment, but then I realized what He meant. "The earthworld!" I exclaimed. "I had almost forgotten!"

"It has been a little over thirteen hundred years since you were last there." Aslan laughed, opening a portal that showed… me, lying face down on the ground in the woods, open wounds covering me.

I started at my appearance, not fully comprehending, but then I remembered. "Of course! The whipping that the Shadows put me through before I first came to Narnia! Wait, I survived that?"

Aslan chuckled. "You have a choice, Yvonne." He said to me. "Since you are still alive in your mother's world, you can go back there and live out your human life," here He paused and showed me another path, "or you can continue on to My Country."

I gazed down the way that would take me to the earthworld. As I looked, I saw what awaited me should I choose my human life: Peter and I, happy together, and as in love as we were in Narnia. But as I thought about it, I realized that, there, I was four years older than him, and it would have been a little bit weird. I then turned my head and looked down the path that would allow me to continue on. I gasped at what I saw: two figures; one was a teenage girl with long black hair, and the second was a child with blond hair. I immediately recognized these two; their deaths were the most painful to me: Lorelei and Cynric.

"Take me to Your Country." I begged Aslan. "It's been too long since I saw my sister."

Aslan smiled at me. "I knew all along that that would be your choice." He chuckled, before He breathed on me. The world around me swirled, and I closed my eyes, eagerly anticipating holding my sister again.

When I opened my eyes again, movement to my right caught my eye. I turned and saw a sight I had never seen before: my entire family together. Instantly I gathered up my skirts and began to run to them, ignoring Sollys and it bounced against my legs, calling out to them "Mother! Father! _Lorelei_! _Cynric_!"

Instantly, there were ecstatic cries of "Yvonne!" from my mother, father, and sister and I heard my son give a wordless shout before he joined the rest of my family running to greet me. Lorelei reached me first, and finally I was able to crush my little sister to me. Cynric overtook my parents and tackled me, sending all three of us to the ground, but I didn't care. Within moments, I was caught up in a family group hug; something I had never before experienced.

I heard Lorelei whispering something in my ear, and when I realized what it was I wanted to cry again. She was singing our song!

_Ano chiheisen_

_Kagayaku no wa_

_Doko ka ni kimi o_

_Kakushite iru kara_

_Taku-san no hi ga_

_Natsukashii no wa_

_Ano dore ka hitotsu ni_

_Kimi ga iru kara_

Just as I had before she had been poisoned, I took up the second verse.

_Saa dekake you_

_Hitokire no PAN_

_NAIFU, RANPU kabani _

_Tsume konde_

Lorelei's voice once again intertwined with mine upon reaching the chorus.

_Do-san ga nokoshita astsui omoi_

_Ka-san ga kureta ano mananzashi_

_Chikyuu wa mawaru kimi o Kakushite_

_Kagayaku hitomi kirameku tomoshibi_

_Chikyuu wa mawaru kimi o nosete_

_Itsuka kitto deau bokura o nosete_

_Do-san ga nokoshita astsui omoi_

_Ka-san ga kureta ano mananzashi_

_Chikyuu wa mawaru kimi o Kakushite_

_Kagayaku hitomi kirameku tomoshibi_

_Chikyuu wa mawaru kimi o nosete_

_Itsuka kitto deau bokura o nosete_

I could not possibly describe my feelings when I at last heard my sister's voice again. It felt the same, only better than, when the sun finally burst through the clouds after Nightshroud's defeat.

Of course, I had to tell her everything that had happened to me in the years after her death. Mother was shocked when I told of how I avenged Lorelei's death, and both she and Lorelei were eager to learn how I had won Peter's heart. However, that was the one part of the story that I didn't want to tell. The pain was still too fresh.

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><p>Years passed. The four Pevensie children grew up, but they never forgot those that they had met in Narnia. Peter had the worst time out of all of them when it came to readjusting to life in England. Often he would be found staring at nothing with a sad look in his eyes, or looking at a beech leaf that only he and his brother and sisters knew where it came from. Oh, he did well in school, and later university, but he always seemed distant from everyone except Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. And even then, after a time, Susan began to ridicule her older brother for mourning something that she believed never existed in the first place.<p>

"Peter!" Edmund gently scolded one day while they were waiting for the train to arrive, the one carrying Lucy, their cousin, and his friend. Peter looked up from the beech leaf in his hand. Edmund smiled knowingly. "You were thinking about her again, weren't you?"

Peter sighed. "Of course I was. Ed, _she died in my arms_." He glanced at the box with the magic rings that Edmund currently held. "If only I was allowed to go back to Narnia, along with Eustace and Jill."

"Peter, I know this might sound harsh and very much like how Susan is sounding nowadays, but you've got to stop living in the past." Edmund said. "We all miss Yvonne, at least, you, Lucy, and myself miss her, but you're not going to be doing yourself any favors if you keep mourning her every single day for the rest of your life. You need to move on."

Again, Peter sighed. "Maybe you're right." He looked up and saw that the train that they were waiting for was coming in, but, for some reason, something seemed wrong. Just then, he felt something pulling him, and a golden voice calling his name. "Ed, doesn't it look like the train's taking that bend a little too fast?" Peter asked his younger brother.

Edmund looked up quickly, but he never got the chance to answer. Moments after the question had passed Peter's lips, the train derailed and crashed into the station where they all were waiting. The front of the train caught Edmund and threw him backwards, directly into a stone wall, instantly killing him. One of the cars overturned and fell on top of Peter, crushing his spine.

Peter knew that he would not live much longer. As his consciousness began wavering, he saw a face in his mind; the face of a blue-eyed, black-haired beech dryad smiling at him. Peter smiled, partly in sadness, but partly in anticipation of seeing his beloved again. "_I'll be there soon, Yvonne." _He promised silently, before slipping completely into the welcoming light.

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><p>I was talking with Soula, telling her everything that had happened after the battle with the Shadows, when all of a sudden, I heard Lorelei's voice shouting out "Yvonne! Yvonne, come quickly!"<p>

Immediately, I got up from where I was sitting on the grass and went to join my sister at the Garden wall. "What is it?" I asked her, wondering what could possibly have happened.

"Look! Just – just there!" She exclaimed, pointing to something beyond the wall and grinning like a fool.

I focused my gaze at where she was pointing and my vision telescoped out. My twin was pointing to a large group of Narnians, but I somehow got the feeling that she was pointing at one specific person. I glanced again at her and followed where she was pointing to see a very familiar blond-haired king.

"Peter!" I gasped. I wasn't sure if my smile could get any wider.

I waited by the wall as Aslan greeted Peter, Edmund, and Lucy. I wondered why Susan was missing, but then I realized that Susan could very well still be alive.

The shock of finally seeing Peter again made me fail to notice when the group dispelled. It was Lorelei who brought me back to my senses. "What are you waiting for?" she asked, laughing. "Go to him!" She then proceeded to make her point by pushing me in the direction that she had seen him leave in.

"All right, I'm going!" I whispered back to her through my teeth. Looking forward, I took a deep breath and went to him.

As I approached him, I kept my head down and curtsied to show my respect to the High King of Narnia. Finally, after so long, I looked up into the eyes of he who had captured my heart and I grinned at the expression of shock that was on his face. "Hello, Peter." I murmured.

"Y-Yvonne?" he gasped, unsure if it was really me.

My grin widened as I nodded. "I told you I would wait for you." I reassured him as I opened my arms to him.

The next thing I knew, Peter's arms were around me in a bone-crushing embrace and had his lips pressed to mine. I smiled into the kiss, relieved that we were at last together and nothing could come between us ever again.

_Fin_

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><p><em>AN: Thank you again, everyone who reviewed and stuck with me even when I failed to update in a timely fashion. _

_The Lion protect you all_


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